Chandigarh, November 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab’s published share of the Centre’s battery-storage support so far stands at about ₹90 crore out of ₹9,160 crore, roughly one per cent, and the State must move now if it is to do better under the ₹14,500 crore scheme cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, KBS Sidhu said today.
KBS Sidhu, who retired as Special Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India for the two decisions: viability gap funding of ₹14,500 crore for 92 GWh of grid-scale energy storage, and ₹2,814 crore in capital support for four lithium and nickel processing plants. He described them as a practical path to self-reliance at a time when China alone refines about three-quarters of the world’s lithium and cobalt.
“Data centres, telecom networks, defence systems and the grid itself all depend on assured power and on batteries. There can be no digital sovereignty without energy and mineral security,” KBS Sidhu said. “These are long-gestation, high-risk projects that private partners alone may not be able to carry. The Centre has rightly stepped in, and Punjab must now do its part.”
Where Punjab stands
Under the 2025 storage scheme, Punjab received 500 MWh out of 30 GWh, against 4 GWh each for Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Under the national PPP viability gap funding programme, it has one project among 72: a ₹26.57 crore wheat silo at Kotkapura, with ₹5.31 crore in support.
PSPCL, meanwhile, has tendered a further 2,000 MWh without central support. Its Patiala and Ludhiana auction closed at ₹3.35–3.44 lakh per MW a month, while VGF-backed tenders in Kerala and Haryana this year closed at ₹1.81–1.97 lakh.
What the State should do
KBS Sidhu urged the Punjab Government, PSPCL, PSTCL, Invest Punjab and the Punjab Pollution Control Board to act on five fronts:
1. Seek a substantial allocation. Press the Centre for a larger battery-storage share under the new scheme before State shares are settled, with PSPCL’s storage needs fully documented.
2. Secure central support for future tenders. Punjab’s consumers should not pay more for storage than consumers in other States.
3. Re-run the numbers on pumped storage. Punjab objected to BBMB’s proposals in January as financially unviable. With 60 of the 92 GWh set aside for pumped storage, the State should reassess them on the new terms while safeguarding its interests in BBMB assets.
4. Make storage an industrial priority. Give storage components and battery recycling priority under the Industrial and Business Development Policy, 2026, with serviced land and a single point of contact.
5. Clear projects on time. Approve battery and recycling units within fixed deadlines, with fire-safety and pollution norms enforced.
A wake-up call for Punjabi entrepreneurs
Punjab has no lithium or nickel mines and no port, KBS Sidhu noted, so its best opening lies downstream of the four refineries. Battery projects under the new scheme must meet a minimum 40% domestic content requirement. That should create demand for battery packs, containers, inverters, transformers, cables, switchgear, fire-safety systems and energy-management software, many of them within reach of Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Mandi Gobindgarh.
He also urged entrepreneurs to examine the Centre’s ₹1,500 crore critical mineral recycling scheme, and asked Punjab’s speciality steel units to engage early as potential buyers of domestically processed nickel.
A call to industry bodies
KBS Sidhu called on the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Mohali Industries Association and industry associations in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Mandi Gobindgarh to come together. He asked them to hold joint briefings with PSPCL and Invest Punjab, submit shared inputs to the Centre on how domestic content is defined, and carry the message to MSMEs across the State.
“The guidelines are still to be written,” KBS Sidhu said. “Punjab’s industry should make its case to the Centre before they are notified.”
About KBS Sidhu
KBS Sidhu is a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch, Punjab cadre, who superannuated as Special Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab. He is the Founder-Editor of The KBS Chronicle and Convener of the Shiromani Punjab Forum.
Contact: kbs.sidhu@gmail.com | 7837-001-001
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