For decades, the humble lead-acid battery operated in total obscurity beneath the hood of the automobile. Unseen and unappreciated, it was an asset evaluated only when it failed. Yet, across India’s shifting industrial landscape, a quiet revolution was forged within this seemingly commoditised sector.
At the epicentre stands Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Limited (ARE&M), formerly known as Amara Raja Batteries Limited. It is one of India’s two largest lead-acid battery manufacturers, sharing the crown with Exide India. Together, the two companies control over 50 per cent of the organised market. Amara Raja has a proven track record of adapting swiftly to evolving market dynamics. Through continuous capacity expansion and the launch of industry-disrupting products, its relentless focus on innovation has consistently yielded robust financial growth.
To drive India’s clean energy transition, ARE&M has now expanded its footprint into the broader energy and mobility sectors, offering comprehensive energy solutions. A key milestone in this strategy is the commissioning of the Amara Raja Giga Corridor in Telangana, which establishes a clear roadmap for commercial-scale lithium-ion cell manufacturing.
With a turnover of over $2 billion, the Amara Raja Group is among India’s leading business conglomerates, with interests spanning the production of lead-acid batteries (AMARON brand), power conversion products, sheet metal products, precision components, electronic products, infrastructure development, industrial services, food processing, and media and entertainment. ARE&M is the group’s flagship company. It recorded revenue of Rs13,815 crore in FY26 and employs 12,000 people.
Eliminating regular maintenance
Industrial batteries were primitive, but Amara Raja was the first to introduce sealed, maintenance-free VRLA batteries, which allowed modular stacking and eliminated regular maintenance. The new technology rapidly captured market share in the booming telecommunications and UPS sectors. Exide followed several years later.
In 1994, Ramachandra N Galla’s son, Jayadev, joined the family business after returning from the USA, where he had worked as an international sales executive at GNB Battery Technologies Inc. Jayadev holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
When competitors initiated a price war in the telecom battery sector to squeeze the upstart company, Jayadev realised they needed a strategic counterweight. However, when he proposed expanding into automotive batteries, his engineer father initially objected. RN Galla viewed the unorganised automotive sector as insufficiently technical and lacking in complex engineering. He also warned that branding and distribution would pose significant challenges.
Determined to break the ice, Jayadev did not lose hope. “A five-year persuasion effort finally paid off when I framed it as a vital defensive strategy,” the 60-year-old Jayadev says with a grin. “Realising that Exide’s bread-and-butter market was in the automotive replacement space, while our company’s exposure was heavily skewed towards telecom, my father finally accepted my argument for a counterattack capability.” In 2000, the company forayed into the automotive battery segment and launched its flagship brand, Amaron.
Following that strategic pivot, the company’s success continued. Jayadev worked in various capacities within the company before eventually becoming chairman and managing director. He also served as an MP representing the Guntur constituency for the TDP before eventually leaving politics to focus entirely on the business. Under Jayadev’s leadership, backed by his sharp business acumen, leadership qualities and practical understanding of modern technology, the company achieved major milestones, including crossing a turnover of Rs10,000 crore and expanding its footprint into overseas markets.
From a modest beginning with a single manufacturing plant in Karakambadi village in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, ARE&M now operates 15 manufacturing facilities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Today, it stands as one of the largest manufacturers of lead-acid batteries for industrial and automotive applications in India’s storage battery industry and has recently forayed into lithium-ion technology.
Now a nonagenarian, RN Galla restricts his involvement to the company’s philanthropic initiatives. “It is very important to always believe that entrepreneurship is a social service, and you have to grow with it,” he says, also fondly recalling how he built his house right inside the Karakambadi factory campus, where he and his wife still live and continue to enjoy a happy, eco-friendly lifestyle.
Today, Jayadev actively steers the company’s strategy and growth plans alongside the third generation of the family: his two nephews, Ramadevi’s sons, Harshavardhana Gourineni, 36, and Vikramadithya Gourineni, 34, supported by a team of expert professionals from the company. Meanwhile, his sons, Ashok, 32, and Siddharth, 30, are pursuing careers in acting.
Harshavardhana, who studied industrial and organisational psychology at Purdue University, and Vikramadithya, who studied biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are executive directors leading the company’s next chapter of growth. Harshavardhana brings manufacturing and demand-planning expertise from Johnson Controls/Clarios to reinforce the company’s leadership in lead-acid batteries, while Vikramadithya spearheads the transition into next-generation energy and mobility solutions.
A major leap forward
Amara Raja is aggressively shaping India’s advanced chemistry cell (ACC) landscape and recently commissioned its Customer Qualification Plant (CQP) at the Giga Corridor in Telangana through its wholly owned subsidiary, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies (ARACT). This marks a major leap forward for India’s domestic lithium-ion battery manufacturing ambitions. The Giga Corridor is spread over a sprawling 300 acres at Divitipally in Telangana.
As one of India’s most innovative energy storage hubs, the facility redefines conventional manufacturing. It seamlessly integrates advanced R&D, cell development, pack assembly and testing infrastructure. Serving as the foundation for current manufacturing operations, the state-of-the-art battery pack assembly plant is operational, with a pack capacity of 1.5 GWh to cater to the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments and a capacity of 1.2 GWh for the stationary segment, helping build a sustainable customer base.
Anchoring the ecosystem, Amara Raja’s e-Positive Energy Labs is an advanced R&D centre driving cell chemistry innovation, product engineering, performance optimisation and future technology development.
The newly commissioned CQP represents a vital bridge between laboratory-scale research and development and commercial-scale production. Backed by an initial investment of R500 crore, the 60 MWh (megawatt-hour) facility is designed to be highly reconfigurable and employs 100 people. It will manufacture both cylindrical and prismatic lithium-ion cells across multiple chemistries, enabling OEM customers across the industry to test, validate and approve cell technologies ahead of high-volume manufacturing.
“This intermediate step of CQP is intended to de-risk execution and smooth the learning curve as we scale towards commercial production,” Jayadev explains. “Setting up gigawatt-scale cell lines without pre-validating chemistries, coating speeds and slitting tolerances can result in huge scrap rates and capital loss. The CQP solves this hurdle by providing a commercial-scale pilot line.”
The company has established Tier 1 supply relationships with prominent two- and three-wheeler manufacturers, including Ather Energy, Bajaj and Piaggio. The company’s first 2 GWh commercial cell manufacturing facility, Phase I, is scheduled to commence production next year, with a capital outlay of Rs1,500 crore, alongside the e-Positive Energy Labs and engineering centre. This forms part of the company’s total investment plan of Rs9,500 crore, which aims to build a 16 GWh gigafactory programme by 2030.
“We are funding the initial investment through internal accruals,” says Delli Babu Y, chief financial officer. “Our lead-acid business provides the financial foundation to transition into lithium and other emerging technologies, and our balance sheet is strong enough to leverage.” He believes the original investment projections are flexible and may increase or decrease in the long term, depending on machinery innovations.
“Cylindrical cells are currently in trial production at the CQP and undergoing R&D testing,” says Uday Shankar K, head of cell technologies. “Meeting the required parameters will enable us to offer them to customers. We will follow a similar process for the prismatic cell line.” The fully operational Giga Corridor will house five gigawatt-scale cell production lines. Civil construction for Line 1 is now 80 per cent complete, with the company currently finalising equipment orders, mostly from China. A planned 10 GWh BESS gigafactory will provide energy storage solutions tailored to both grid and commercial and industrial (C&I) applications.
China’s tight grip
However, scaling new energy technologies comes with significant hurdles. While lead-acid supply chains have diversified, the global lithium-ion ecosystem faces heavy consolidation. China maintains a tight grip on the entire value chain, from mining and refining to manufacturing equipment and technology. Furthermore, restrictions on technology transfers for the EV and renewable energy sectors have created roadblocks for enterprises worldwide.
When Indian firms attempted to establish joint ventures or obtain comprehensive technology licences from major Chinese manufacturers, negotiations were stalled by foreign export controls and unofficial diplomatic embargoes. Amara Raja’s efforts to secure a technical licensing agreement with Gotion High-Tech were among those affected. “China has put export controls on certain technologies and high-generation materials,” explains Vikramadithya. “They want to control this technology for as long as they can. An all-encompassing technology licence is simply not available, so we have taken the decision to front-load our own internal R&D.”
Meanwhile, JSW Group has paused its planned 50 GWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery-cell giga-factory in Odisha. “The company could not find a technology partner because China restricts the export of LFP manufacturing knowledge and technology,” said director Parth Jindal.
Rather than viewing these geopolitical barriers as a dead end, the company sees them as an accelerator for self-reliance. “Following restrictions on Chinese technology partnerships, we have doubled our R&D budget and established a commercial-scale pilot plant for customer qualification. This intermediate step gives us a distinct advantage in setting our future roadmap,” explains Jayadev. “The entire investment in the CQP is currently being funded through internal accruals, but at some point, we will look at raising capital for our gigafactory plans,” he adds.
India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries rolled out the Rs18,100-crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery storage to create 50 GWh of domestic capacity. However, structural flaws in the scheme’s bidding criteria created severe market distortions. The PLI scheme for ACCs is facing delays because of rigid performance metrics, including ambitious energy-density and cycle-life targets, and a weak domestic raw-material supply chain. While demand-side policies have succeeded, cell manufacturing requires regulatory support rather than strict competitive bidding. Projected demand is around 270 GWh or more by 2030, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 38 per cent, driven by the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and stationary energy storage.
Consequently, less than 5 per cent of the target capacity has been commissioned. Ironically, established battery manufacturers such as Amara Raja and Exide lost the initial bidding rounds because of their conservative, realistic technical proposals, losing out to highly aggressive bidders. “It is fair to enforce penalty clauses for underperformance,” notes Vikramadithya. “However, these penalties were repeatedly deferred, ensuring that actual cell production remains negligible.”Lead-acid
Under the PLI ACC scheme, 40 GWh of manufacturing capacity has been allocated across two bidding rounds. The allocations include Ola Cell Technologies (20 GWh), Reliance New Energy (15 GWh) and ACC Energy Storage (5 GWh). Currently, Ola Cell Technologies Pvt Ltd is the only firm with an operational facility, having established a 1 GWh cell plant. The company commenced pilot production in March 2024 and is actively stabilising operations to transition to full-scale commercial manufacturing. Other major players outside the PLI scheme include Amara Raja, Exide and Agratas (Tata Group), all quietly building capacity. Exide has commissioned Phase I, with a manufacturing capacity of 6 GWh, in Devanahalli, Bengaluru, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions Limited (EESL). Its long-term target is to establish a 12 GWh cell manufacturing footprint.
“We expect margins to recover as lead-acid profitability improves, but higher capital allocation to lithium-ion and other new-energy businesses could keep overall ROE subdued, given their lower return profile. While these businesses offer meaningful long-term growth opportunities, low-cost Chinese imports and intense competition could constrain profitability and capacity utilisation,” a Nomura report on Amara Raja stated.
Amara Raja manufactures leading battery brands, including Amaron and Powerzone, which are distributed through more than 3,000 franchisees and channel partners across India. It is a preferred original equipment (OE) supplier to major automakers, including Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Honda, Ashok Leyland and Ford India. The company is also a trusted supplier to the telecom sector, serving service providers and equipment manufacturers; the UPS market, covering both OEMs and replacement demand; Indian Railways; and the power, oil and gas industries. Its prominent industrial battery brands include PowerStack, AmaronVolt and Quanta. Both industrial and automotive batteries are exported to more than 70 countries. Exports currently account for 12 per cent of total revenue. To capitalise on the widespread acceptance of Indian-manufactured products, the company has set a strategic goal of increasing its export revenue mix to 20 per cent.
Amara Raja has solidified its position among India’s largest and most diversified battery manufacturers, operating 15 manufacturing facilities across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Backed by more than 3.96 million sq ft of integrated shop-floor area, the company’s network includes two plastics units and two new-energy plants, delivering an annualised capacity of 65 million automotive batteries and an industrial output of 3.2 billion Ah. The Indian lead-acid battery market, valued at approximately $5 billion, continues to provide a stable and reliable foundation for the broader energy ecosystem.
Automotive aftermarket
“Amara Raja is the undisputed market leader in the two-wheeler aftermarket by a wide margin and stands neck and neck with the competition in the four-wheeler segment. We maintain a presence across every OE platform, despite low margins,” Harshavardhana points out. The automotive aftermarket accounts for nearly 65 per cent of the total industry, and the company claims to have a 35 per cent share of that segment. In the industrial battery segment, the company has traditionally retained its leadership in telecom batteries.
Production is anchored by two major hubs: the Karakambadi facility and the flagship Amara Raja Growth Corridor (ARGC). Established in 2015 across a 500-acre industrial park in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, the ARGC campus is strategically located on the Bengaluru-Chennai-Krishnapatnam industrial corridor. Serving as the group’s core manufacturing backbone, ARGC features five advanced plants, including the world’s largest integrated medium valve-regulated lead-acid (MVRLA) battery facility.
To maximise efficiency, Amara Raja has equipped its plants with state-of-the-art technology and low-cost automation designed to reduce operator fatigue and improve product quality. The facilities use globally recognised practices such as Lean Six Sigma, 5S and Quality Circles.
The plants feature bright shop floors that are well maintained, with minimal human intervention and few operators visible. All functional areas on the shop floor are properly demarcated to create a healthy working environment. All products undergo stringent quality checks at every stage before leaving the factory. Driving the company’s continuous evolution is its in-house R&D centre, officially recognised by the Government of India for pioneering best-in-class energy storage solutions.
Amara Raja has achieved a platinum sustainability milestone through its new recycling venture. In FY26, 88.27 per cent of its lead and lead-alloy inputs were sourced from secondary recycled materials. This milestone has been driven by the company’s robust Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programmes for used batteries, plastic waste and e-waste, managed in partnership with authorised collection agencies and recyclers.
As part of these circular-economy initiatives, the company has established a wholly owned subsidiary, Amara Raja Circular Solutions (ARCS). Its state-of-the-art battery recycling facility in Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu, has a capacity of 150,000 MT per annum. The plant features cutting-edge air-pollution control systems alongside a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system that recycles 100 per cent of treated process water back into operations.
Demonstrating its commitment to waste management, Amara Raja achieved Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL) status for FY26. The company was awarded a prestigious Platinum Certification by Bureau Veritas, which independently verified that more than 95 per cent of its industrial waste – including ETP sludge and ZLD salts – was successfully diverted from landfills for co-processing. “Lead-acid is a mature, 100-plus-year-old technology. It boasts an unmatched circularity profile: nearly 100 per cent of used batteries are recycled globally, with over 85 per cent of lead and plastic recovered and reused domestically,” says Harshavardhana.
Amara Raja holds a dominant market share in the South and North, while Exide leads in the East and West. However, Amara Raja made a major competitive push this year with a highly visible branding campaign during the Durga Puja festival.
Avirup Talukdar, owner of Pavi Trader, is one of Amara Raja’s largest franchisees in north Kolkata, catering to a network of over 250 retailers. “Amara Raja has significantly boosted its brand recall over the past 5 years through continuous product innovation,” says Talukdar. He praises the management as proactive, reliable in terms of both product quality and serviceability, and committed to honouring its agreements with franchisees. However, Talukdar notes a key area for improvement: the company should provide territorial security for its retailers, similar to the exclusivity granted to franchisees. Restricting the random appointment of new retailers within the same territory would protect existing partners’ margins and prevent market overcrowding.
Anand Rathi’s research report on Amara Raja states: ‘As the outlook for automotive and industrial demand is bright in lead-acid batteries, we expect the company to gain further share going forward. Despite near-term challenges in the form of higher alloy, sulphur and plastic input costs, the company’s margin is expected to expand in the medium term, led by new tubular batteries, the recycling plant and cost pass-through.’
Disciplined capital allocation
ARE&M (Amara Raja) reported consolidated annual revenue of Rs13,814 crore in March 2026, compared with Rs12,846 crore in March 2025, representing growth of 7.5 per cent. Profit after tax fell to Rs896 crore in 2026 from Rs945 crore in March 2025. In Q1 FY27, the company achieved revenue of Rs4,215 crore and a PAT of Rs191 crore. The current stock price is Rs716 on the NSE, with a market capitalisation of Rs12,697 crore.
“Our company has been built around proactive management, and that has defined our success,” says Babu. Discussing market sentiment, he explains that it is occasionally weighed down by geopolitical tensions and Chinese technology restrictions, sparking fears of disruptions to India’s domestic lithium initiatives. To counter scepticism regarding heavy cash burn and execution risks, the management is prioritising disciplined capital allocation and foundational capabilities over aggressive expansion. It is also leveraging steady cash flows from the lead-acid and solutions businesses to offset new-energy costs.
Unlike traditional family-owned groups where decisions remain concentrated at the top, Amara Raja has institutionalised operational autonomy. “When my father started, micromanagement was necessary,” says Jayadev. “When I came in, empowerment was the need of the hour. Now, we have evolved from empowerment to complete accountability.”
Echoing him, Vikramadithya says: “A core priority for modern leadership is bringing younger talent into the fold. Integrating the latest generation into the corporate ecosystem is no longer optional; it is the need of the hour to ensure they are set up for long-term success.” He also adds that businesses must take an unemotional approach to evaluating their portfolios, identifying which ventures are thriving and which are holding the company back. Pruning underperforming areas is essential before stepping into new frontiers. Following several years dedicated strictly to consolidation, companies are now shifting gears to accelerate new investment activities.
Amara Raja’s trajectory illustrates how an industrial enterprise can reinvent itself without losing its core strengths. The road ahead contains real challenges: navigating global supply-chain bottlenecks, overcoming local raw-material constraints and competing against state-backed global conglomerates. Yet, by establishing its own research infrastructure, intermediate validation plants and flexible giga-factory lines, Amara Raja is building a self-reliant energy ecosystem.
As the world reconfigures its supply chains around security and sustainability, this quiet titan from Hyderabad is proving that long-term conviction, disciplined capital allocation and continuous technology absorption remain the ultimate competitive advantages.
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How it all began
The company was founded by Ramachandra Naidu Galla, a US-educated engineer who grew up in a modest agricultural family in Andhra Pradesh. He had spent years in America working as an engineer and as a consultant with Sargent & Lundy in Chicago. Back then, Galla had no inclination to go into business. However, through the Telugu Association of North America (TANA), he was asked to participate in a panel on industrial opportunities in India. Preparing for the discussion led him to research India’s industrial landscape.
During a visit to a thermal power plant in Vijayawada, Galla observed sophisticated, state-of-the-art power systems, but its primitive, isolated battery room was filled with large cells emitting hazardous fumes. He realised that conventional batteries used across Indian power plants at the time emitted fumes and had to be housed in separate rooms. Having worked around battery plants, power systems and battery design in the US, he had already encountered a potential upgrade. Recognising an opportunity, he began considering the possibilities of bringing his experience and expertise back home to introduce modern, maintenance-free battery technology, then pioneered in the United States by GNB Batteries. Galla set out to transform India’s industrial energy landscape.
The company was incorporated in 1985 in a small industrial shed in Karakambadi, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Rejecting major urban centres, Galla deliberately chose a barren, infrastructure-starved region to generate local jobs and strengthen the rural economy. Establishing an advanced technology firm in pre-liberalisation India meant battling severe bureaucratic headwinds. Under the Licence Raj, setting up an industrial unit required navigating endless approvals: Letters of Intent, foreign collaboration clearances, capital goods import licences and annual phased manufacturing approvals. “It took a few years just to get through the paperwork garbage,” recalls the 90-year-old founder and chairman, Galla. “Instead of concentrating on introducing new products and setting up the factory, you were forced to run around government bureaucracy.”
It was a challenging period for Galla, but his wife and co-founder, Aruna Kumari, supported his entrepreneurial journey completely. A computer science graduate of Lake View College in Chicago, USA, she is the daughter of Paturi Rajagopala Naidu, a prominent parliamentarian and social activist. She later built a prominent political career, serving as a four-time MLA and minister representing the Indian National Congress. The couple has two children: a son, Jayadev, and a daughter, Ramadevi.
Despite these constraints, Galla secured a technology partnership with GNB Industrial Battery Company for sealed valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries and with HDR Power Systems for UPS systems. By the time commercial production commenced in 1992, the Indian battery industry was dominated by entrenched incumbents, most notably Exide, a British-legacy brand older than the Republic of India itself. The other two major players were Standard Batteries and AMCO.