Mumbai, Feb. 1 -- The Union budget on Saturday announced the elimination of basic customs duty (BCD) on imports of a range of materials, including lead, zinc, and cobalt, that go into making lithium-ion batteries, and on select capital goods used in manufacturing of electric vehicles, in a move that will likely make these zero-emission vehicles cheaper to own.

The government also proposed to set up a National Manufacturing Mission, which will have a special emphasis on clean tech manufacturing, including EV batteries, motors and controllers, as well as grid-scale power storage batteries.

BCD will be removed from Sunday on 35 different types of capital goods - or machinery - used for lithium-ion battery manufacturing. This will bring dow...