The Centre has granted deadline extensions to two of three companies under the Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, with Ola Electric and Reliance New Energy receiving extensions till 2031 while Rajesh Exports was excluded due to ongoing governance issues. According to government officials and the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), the extension covers Ola Electric's committed 20GWh capacity and Reliance New Energy's 5GWh allocation from the first tranche awarded in 2022. As per Mint's query to MHI, the extension was granted as all three companies had missed their deadline of investing ₹225 crore per gigawatt hour in the first two years of the scheme. The decision comes at a time when only 1.4GWh (from Ola Electric) is operational of the 40GWh worth contracts awarded under the PLI ACC scheme, with the MHI projecting 11GWh installed capacity by December 2026.
Ola Electric chairman and managing director Bhavish Aggarwal stated that the revised timeline "transforms the economics of our cell business by converting an earlier milestone overhang into a five-year, quarterly PLI opportunity of up to ₹7,240 Cr." The company had not factored in any incentives in its business projections after overshooting the original timelines, but is now well ahead of the government's revised schedule. The government's decision has effectively extended the original timelines by two years, providing Ola Electric with access to the full potential of ₹7,240 crore and enabling disbursement as soon as next quarter. The revised timelines assume significance as Ola Electric recently reversed a ₹57-crore provision in the June quarter that had been made towards a potential default under the government's ACC PLI scheme, which helped narrow the company's losses in the first quarter of FY27. According to Ola Electric's Q1 FY27 results, the company reported a 22% decline in consolidated net loss to ₹336 crore from ₹428 crore a year earlier, with the loss narrowing 33% quarter-on-quarter from ₹500 crore. As per Live Mint, Chairman Bhavish Aggarwal confirmed the company is ahead of the revised schedule and could begin receiving incentives as soon as next quarter.
According to Business Standard, Ola Electric currently has 2.5 GWh of installed cell-manufacturing capacity, with a further 3.5 GWh under installation. The company will reach 6 GWh by the end of the current quarter, achieving the initial installed-capacity milestone well ahead of the revised December 2026 timeline. The revised approval covers Ola Electric's 20 GWh allocation under the ACC PLI scheme, with the company planning to scale its cell manufacturing capacity towards the full allocation. The company is developing cells using both nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries, while working on the localisation of battery materials and cell manufacturing processes. By achieving 6 GWh capacity ahead of the December 2026 deadline, Ola Electric positions itself to begin receiving quarterly disbursements earlier than the maximum allowed timeframe, which supports the capital-intensive scaling required to reach the final 20 GWh target.
Rajesh Exports was excluded from the extension due to ongoing governance concerns, with SEBI alleging misrepresentation worth ₹15 trillion by the company in a June 2026 interim order. The MHI has issued a show-cause notice to ACC Energy, the battery subsidiary of Rajesh Exports, which was awarded a 5GW capacity contract under the PLI scheme. As per government officials, "A show cause has been issued to ACC Energy. Until a satisfactory response from the company is received, their request has been kept on hold." In an earlier interview to Mint in June, Rajesh Mehta, chairperson at Rajesh Exports, had stated that the company has not received any support from the government yet under the PLI scheme, saying "If they give us, we'll take it. If they don't give, we are least bothered. By taking away the PLI, will they take away my invention?"
According to the Department-related Standing Committee on Industry in the Rajya Sabha, cell makers could not meet targets under the scheme due to challenges in obtaining skilled manpower and specialised machinery as well as raw material. In March, the MHI had informed the Rajya Sabha's Department-related Standing Committee that these challenges prevented companies from meeting their targets. Experts emphasize that India presently does not produce localized battery-grade materials yet, which will be essential to build a domestic cell making ecosystem. Reji Kumar Pillai, president of the India Smart Grid Forum, noted that "Meeting deadlines of an incentive scheme is crucial, and we hope the lessons from the first ACC PLI scheme's failure will be taken into consideration to modify the selection criteria for the recently floated tender for 10GWh grid-scale storage under the PLI ACC scheme."
