Bengaluru : India is transforming from importing and assembling lithium-ion cells to building a domestic cell-to-pack manufacturing base. The country’s battery industry is entering its most capital-intensive and employment-intensive phase, evolving from an assembly and import-dependent opportunity into a fully integrated cell-to-recycling industrial ecosystem, according to Adecco India. The sector is projected to generate 1.5 to 2 million jobs, 25% direct and 75% indirect, by 2030. Hiring is expected to grow by 25% to 30% Y-o-Y, with the next decade defined less by conventional assembly-line roles and more by specialised electrochemistry, materials science and battery process engineering capabilities across the value chain.
According to Deepesh Gupta, Director and Head of General Staffing, Adecco India,“India’s battery manufacturing journey is no longer just a policy ambition; it is now translating into plant-level capacity. Under the PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells, the Government of India has committed Rs. 18,100 crore to develop 50 GWh of domestic ACC manufacturing capacity, with an additional 5 GWh reserved for niche chemistries. A new component manufacturing incentive scheme of nearly Rs. 12,000 crore is also under consideration for cathode and anode active materials, copper foil, electrolytes and separators. With battery manufacturing capacity currently at around 60 GWh and expected to approach 100 GWh by the end of 2026, along with upcoming gigafactory investments in Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana and Telangana, the sector is moving beyond assembly and building the depth of a full industrial ecosystem. Since battery components account for more than 60% of cell cost, and India continues to depend heavily on imported lithium, cobalt and refined battery-grade materials, workforce planning must cover the entire value chain, from cell chemistry and pack integration to end-of-life recycling, not just finished-vehicle manufacturing,”
“Catalysing the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, this localisation drive, supported by the Critical Minerals Mission and India’s participation in the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework, will reduce India’s reliance on imported cells and refined materials, strengthen energy security, and support the Net-Zero target by 2070, while creating employment opportunities across both established manufacturing hubs and emerging Tier-2 and Tier-3 industrial corridors,” he added.
Lithium Battery manufacturing is expected to contribute 50% – 60% of India’s projected green manufacturing jobs by 2030, with specialised battery engineering talent commanding salary premiums of up to 35% to 40% over conventional manufacturing and electronics roles.
Gigafactory clusters continue to be the primary employment engine for the sector, concentrated in Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat and Haryana, with individual facility capacities ranging from 6 GWh to upwards of 16 GWh of cell and pack manufacturing capacity. 70% of total hiring demand is concentrated across these clusters, with 30%of new mandates expected to originate from Tier-2 and Tier-3 industrial corridors as component parks, battery recycling facilities and supplier ecosystems mature around the anchor gigafactories. State-wise, karnataka and Gujarat are expected to account for the largest share of this hiring at 24% and 22% respectively, followed by Telangana (18%) and Haryana (14%), as cell manufacturing, pack assembly and ancillary supplier capacity scales across these clusters.
The Cell Manufacturing and Battery Components segment will account for the largest share of hiring (42%-45%), extending well beyond gigafactory operators into cathode and anode active material producers, copper foil, electrolyte and separator manufacturers, and precursor chemical suppliers, as India works to localise a supply chain. Currently, China controls roughly 80% of global copper foil output and refines the majority of the world’s lithium, nickel and cobalt.
Talent planning is also beginning to look beyond lithium-ion chemistry. A 2026 CEEW assessment argues that India will need to diversify its battery chemistries as demand could reach around 1.3 TWh annually by 2047, with sodium-ion batteries emerging as a credible pathway to supporting the country’s energy transition and reducing supply-chain vulnerabilities. Several key sodium-ion battery components, including cathode materials, hard-carbon anodes, electrolytes and aluminium current collectors, can draw on India’s existing industrial capabilities in pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, textiles and chemicals, potentially enabling significant domestic value addition and opening a parallel talent pathway for chemical and process engineers already embedded in these sectors. Emerging players commercialising hard carbon made from agricultural and bio waste for sodium-ion batteries with support from the Department of Science and Technology and the Technology Development Board, point to the kind of cross-sector talent movement this diversification could unlock.
Entry-level demand is strongest across process engineering, cell testing, validation and quality functions (45%), while mid-level hiring is increasingly concentrated on Battery Management System Engineers, Process and Automation Engineers, and Materials and Electrochemistry Engineers (40%). At the senior level, demand centres on Cell Chemistry Scientists, Functional Safety Leaders and Advanced Manufacturing Heads (15%).
Battery Recycling and Circular Economy Manufacturing is emerging as one of the sector’s fastest-growing talent segments as end-of-life volumes begin to build. With India currently recycling only a small fraction of its end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, and industry estimates pointing to a recycling market opportunity of around USD 3.5 billion by 2030, alongside the Government’s Critical Minerals Mission and the KABIL joint venture working to secure upstream lithium, cobalt and nickel supply, recycling and materials recovery are becoming central to the sector’s workforce planning rather than a peripheral function. Hiring in this segment is projected to grow by 25-30%, with demand shifting towards Hydrometallurgy Engineers, Battery Diagnostics Specialists and EPR Compliance Leaders, and salary premiums of up to 30%-40% reflecting an acute skill shortage estimated at 45%.
“Despite the pace of capacity announcements, specialised battery talent availability continues to lag industry demand by 25-30% across electrochemistry, materials science, battery process engineering and functional safety. A significant share of India’s conventional electronics and automotive manufacturing workforce, skilled in mechanical and electrical assembly, is not directly transferable to gigafactory environments without structured reskilling in cell chemistry, cleanroom protocols and battery safety systems. Addressing this gap will require accelerated reskilling of the existing manufacturing workforce, deeper industry-academia collaboration with chemical engineering and materials science institutions, and sustained investment in specialised battery technical education,” Deepesh added.
Looking ahead, organisations that build layered, function-specific talent pipelines, spanning cell chemistry, process manufacturing, functional safety and materials recovery, will be best placed to lead India’s battery manufacturing ecosystem as it scales. A one-size-fits-all workforce strategy will not work for a manufacturing base this technically complex and still this early in its build-out. With deep expertise in engineering, manufacturing and specialised workforce solutions, Adecco India is well positioned to support companies in building this future-ready talent base.
