New Delhi
The plant will be set up with an outlay of Rs 799 crore in three phases, Munoth Industries said, adding that the plant will provide employment opportunities to 1,700 people.
The first phase of the project will be operational by March 2019 and the second and third phases by 2022. “The setting up of India’s first lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant for mobile industry will improve competitiveness. It will create more value addition to the country and eventually it will drive down the pricing,” Pankaj Mohindroo, National President, Indian Cellular Association (ICA) said.
“We have a large battery pack industry in India - assembling and packing of batteries - but we don’t have core industry,” Mohindroo said.
“This core component plant will catalyse establishment of an entire eco-system of forward and backward integration - forward integration to bring in through design houses, tooling facilities and many SME startups besides catering to the mobile battery pack industry as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supplier,” Mohindroo
added.
The current consumption of batteries is estimated to be around 400-450 mn pa for mobile phones, including replacement, and about 100 mn pa for power banks, he said. Jaswant Munoth, Chairman, Munoth Industries, said the company was allotted 30 acres of land by the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corp.
The company is targeting a market share of approximately six per cent of the total number of batteries consumed in the mobile phone industry in India during the first phase of production.
Zoomcar brings EVs to Kolkata
Zoomcar, the self-drive car rental firm, would increase the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in its fleet to 2,000 by December this year. Zoomcar started offering EVs on its platform in Kolkata after Mysuru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, New Delhi and Mumbai. Initially, 50 e2o vehicles made by Mahindra would be pressed into service by Zoomcar in the metro. “Zoomcar has partnered with Mahindra to provide green mobility solutions in Kolkata. Initially, 50 EVs will be offered on the platform,” co-founder of Zoomcar Greg Moran said. Presently there were 4,000 electric vehicles offered on the platform nationally.
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