India’s battery industry could generate 1.5 million to 2 million jobs by FY30 as the country shifts from importing and assembling lithium-ion cells to building a full domestic manufacturing base, staffing firm Adecco India said. The forecast, shared in early September 2026, covers the entire value chain, from cell production and battery packs to recycling.
The split skews heavily toward indirect employment. Adecco India puts about 25% of the projected jobs as direct roles in factories, engineering, and operations, with the remaining 75% coming from supply chains, logistics, services, and ancillary industries. Hiring across the sector is expected to grow 25-30% year-on-year. The estimate draws on inputs from more than 30 of the firm’s clients in India.
What’s changing isn’t just the volume of hiring, but the kind. The sector is moving away from conventional assembly-line work toward specialised skills in electrochemistry, materials science, and battery process engineering. That scarcity carries a premium: specialised battery engineers could command salaries 35-40% higher than comparable manufacturing and electronics roles, according to the firm.
“India’s battery manufacturing journey is no longer just a policy ambition; it is now translating into plant-level capacity,” said Deepesh Gupta, Director and Head of General Staffing, Adecco India.
The policy backdrop is substantial. Under the Production Linked Incentive scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells, the government has committed ₹18,100 crore to develop 50 GWh of domestic ACC manufacturing capacity, with an additional 5 GWh reserved for niche chemistries. A separate component manufacturing incentive scheme of nearly ₹12,000 crore is under consideration for materials such as cathode and anode active materials, copper foil, electrolytes, and separators.
India’s battery manufacturing capacity currently stands at around 60 GWh and is expected to approach 100 GWh by the end of 2026, supported by upcoming gigafactory investments in states including Gujarat and Karnataka.
Adecco India said companies that build layered, function-specific talent pipelines spanning cell chemistry, process manufacturing, functional safety, and materials recovery will be best placed as the ecosystem scales. It added that a one-size-fits-all workforce strategy won’t work for a manufacturing base this technically complex and this early in its build-out.
