Odisha govt approves JSW group's ₹40,000 cr investment to set up EV plant

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, the country’s largest steel manufacturer, has received approval from Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government to set up electric vehicle and component manufacturing projects in the state. The state cabinet cabinet on Monday also gave a special incentive package for the conglomerate to establish plants in Naraj, Cuttack and Paradip. 

The JSW group will invest around ₹40,000 crore to set up plants, which has the potential to create 11,000 jobs in the state, according to a statement by the Odisha government.

"In a major boost to #MakeInOdisha, the #OdishaCabinet has approved a special incentive package for JSW Group’s #ElectricVehicle and component manufacturing projects in Naraj, Cuttack and Paradip. These projects, with a combined investment of ₹40,000 Cr and employment potential of over 11,000 are set to usher in a new era of industrial growth and job creation in the state," the state government says in a post on social media platform X.

Following the development, shares of JSW Steel surged marginally by 0.95% to hit an intraday high of ₹815.90 in early trade on Tuesday. Shares of JSW Holdings Limited were trading 0.49% higher at ₹5,460 in early trade. Shares of JSW Infrastructure and JSW Energy were, however, trading 0.98% and 3.49% lower, respectively in early trade.

The development comes weeks after the country’s largest steel manufacturer announced that it plans to double its investment in Tamil Nadu in the next few years.

In August last year, JSW Group entered into a joint venture with Chinese automobile major SAIC Motor to acquire a 35% stake in its Indian business MG Motor India. Through the joint venture, the steel conglomerate aims to develop the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in India. The joint venture will also undertake multiple new initiatives including augmenting local sourcing, improving charging infrastructure, expanding production capacity, and introducing a broader range of vehicles with a focus on green mobility, the company had earlier said.

JSW Group had been eyeing Ford’s manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu to ramp up production capacity. However, the US automaker scrapped its plans to sell the manufacturing facility to JSW Group.

MG Motor India, which plans to become an Indian company in two to four years, intends to launch 4 to 5 new cars, mostly EVs and achieve 65-75% of its sales from the EV portfolio by 2028. The company currently has 2023 ZS EV and Comet EV as the electric vehicle offering in the country.

Notably, with the entry of JSW Group in the automotive space, the competition amongst automobile manufacturers to gain the leadership position in the EV segment has been levelled up coupled with the government’s target of achieving 30% electrification in the passenger vehicle segment. According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in a business-as-usual scenario of about 40% growth year-on-year, 2030 will see about 1.6 crore EVs being sold every year.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier said that the country's EV market is expected to grow to 10 million units in annual sales by 2030 and create 50 million jobs. According to the union minister, the EV market potential is expected to reach $266 billion by 2030.