New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exempted custom duties on the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for both smartphones and electric vehicles.

Speaking during her 8th budget speech, Sitharaman said, "To the list of exempted capital goods, I propose to add 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing and 28 additional capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing. This will boost the domestic manufacture of lithium-ion batteries both for mobile phones and for electric vehicles."

"To further the Make in India policy, our government will set up a National Manufacturing Mission covering small, medium, and large industries. This mission will provide policy support, execution roadmaps, and a g...