The manufacturing operations include electric vehicles, a 50 GWh battery plant, electric powertrains, a lithium refinery, and various related production units.
Senior management at Sajjan Jindal’s JSW group has refuted reports of moving the much-awaited EV project from Odisha to Maharashtra. On February 10, 2024, the contract was signed between JSW and the Odisha government for setting up Rs 40,000 crore worth of integrated electric vehicle and EV battery manufacturing in the eastern state.
Another factless, misleading report surfaced from one of the country’s leading mainstream media, claiming that the Jindal Group’s management has made a final decision to relocate the manufacturing unit to Maharashtra. The MoU was signed by the eastern state’s previous Biju Janata Dal government under Naveen Patnaik. The media report of JSW’s relocation to Maharashtra has been published without citing appropriate sources.
The agreement signed by the previous Odisha government clearly states that the unit will be set-up in Cuttack and Paradip with operations including electric vehicles, a 50 GWh battery plant, electric powertrains, a lithium refinery, and various related production units. Ranjan Nayak, executive vice president of corporate strategy, office of chairman and managing director, said the company has yet to make a plan to shift its location and will start operations in Odisha soon.
The company decided to establish a copper smelter and lithium refinery in Paradip’s Jagatsinghpur district and a vehicle and component manufacturing plant in Naraj in Cuttack district. Interestingly, even after the MoU was signed, the previous government did not allocate any land for the facilities to JSW.
Odisha Industries Minister Sampad Swain added that although the project’s operation is slightly delayed, it will soon start in Paradip and Cuttack only. In the first 100 days in office, the current BJP government in Odisha has claimed to have attracted investments of Rs 45,000 crore in various sectors, such as chemicals, semiconductors, steel pipes, and others.
