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Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
From battery waste to energy independence: India's critical minerals opportunity
India's fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage sectors offer a tremendous opportunity: transforming battery waste into a strategic resource to reduce dependence on imported critical minerals. Despite having a vast domestic market, India still heavily relies on imports—especially from China—for key battery materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. As demand for these metals surges toward 2030, India stands at a crucial crossroads to build a robust recycling ecosystem aligned with the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM), positioning itself for long-term energy security and sovereignty. Critical minerals are essential to modern technologies—from EVs and smartphones to renewable energy and defence systems. But with global supply chains heavily dominated by China, India faces significant geopolitical risks. China's control over mineral processing and its tightening export regulations have exposed vulnerabilities in India's energy transition roadmap. In response, India has adopted a comprehensive strategy covering 30 critical minerals: boosting domestic exploration, acquiring overseas resources, and ramping up recycling infrastructure. Backed by a ₹34,300 crore investment, the NCMM seeks to strengthen local supply chains, foster research and development (R&D), and establish strategic reserves both domestically and internationally. Although India has large mineral reserves, only a fraction has been explored. This untapped potential offers a compelling opportunity for global partnerships and investments. India possesses reserves of critical minerals such as copper and potentially cobalt, and unlocking these in an efficient, sustainable manner could bolster the global supply chain. To ensure recycled materials play a pivotal role, India has introduced policies like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR) 2022. These mandates require producers to meet escalating annual recycling targets for lithium-ion batteries, thereby reintegrating recovered metals into the production cycle. India is witnessing a gradual shift from informal to formal battery recycling. According to BDO India, domestic recyclers could supply up to 48% of the country's lithium-ion battery demand by 2030. This transition is powered by growing private investments and policy incentives, including tax exemptions on critical mineral imports and urban mining initiatives announced in the 2025 Union Budget. End-of-life batteries are a rich source of lithium, cobalt, and nickel—metals that are becoming increasingly scarce. Tapping into this resource pool is essential to narrowing the supply-demand gap and achieving energy transition targets. As global demand for critical minerals is expected to hit $80 billion by 2040 (IEA), countries worldwide—including Japan, Canada, Australia, and EU members—are actively building resilient supply chains. India's global alliances, such as the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) and its partnership with Australia on critical minerals research (IACMRP), underscore the importance of international collaboration. Interestingly, several minerals—like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and vanadium—are listed as critical by multiple major economies, reinforcing the need for collective recycling strategies and global coordination. Despite promising initiatives, India faces several execution hurdles: India's strategy includes short-, mid-, and long-term goals: Recycling battery waste could save India billions in imports, create substantial employment in urban mining, and cement its status as the recycling hub of the Global South. Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) such as KABIL, ONGC Videsh, and Coal India are playing a critical role in acquiring overseas assets, while the NCMM's funding drives domestic integration. However, India's funding still lags global benchmarks. The European Union (EU) has proposed a €10 billion fund, and the US has allocated $400 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act. Scaling India's commitment over time will be essential to strengthening recycling infrastructure, driving R&D in hydrometallurgy, and integrating informal workers through IoT-linked systems. To unlock the full potential of battery recycling, India must overcome regulatory, technological, and financial hurdles while accelerating domestic capability building. A phased strategy—driven by AI, supported by global alliances, and backed by policy—can convert India's battery waste burden into an economic and strategic asset. With the right blend of vision, partnerships, and innovation, India can turn its critical minerals challenge into a sustainable competitive advantage—ensuring energy sovereignty and a resilient green-tech future. This article is authored by Chetan Jain, senior vice president – business operations, LOHUM.
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Business Standard
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Compare Form 16 and 26AS carefully, alert employer promptly on errors
Employers will soon issue Form 16, as they are mandated to do so by June 15. Salaried individuals must understand how to use this document effectively while filing their income tax returns (ITRs). Significance of Form 16 Form 16 is a key document for salaried individuals. 'It serves as an essential certificate of tax deducted at source (TDS) on salary income by the employer,' says Suresh Surana, a Mumbai-based chartered accountant. It consolidates salary income, deductions, and taxes. 'It simplifies the tax filing process by making all the relevant data readily available,' says Shefali Mundra, tax expert at ClearTax. Form 16 comprises Part A and Part B. Part A contains the employer's tax deduction account number (TAN), the employee's permanent account number (PAN), and a quarterly summary of salary paid and TDS deposited. Part B includes a breakdown of salary, allowances, perquisites, and deductions under Chapter VI-A (e.g., Sections 80C, 80D, etc.). 'It also reflects the computation of total income and tax liability based on applicable slabs,' says Surana. The income tax portal allows auto-population of ITR forms using Form 16 data. 'Such imported information should be carefully cross-verified with the employee's pay slips to ensure consistency in salary components, deductions, and exemptions,' says Surana. Role of Form 26AS Form 26AS, generated by the Income Tax Department, provides a consolidated view of all tax credits linked to the taxpayer's PAN, including TDS from various sources, such as banks, financial institutions, and even buyers in property transactions. It also reflects advance tax payments, self-assessment tax, and refund details. 'It serves as a centralised view of all tax credits available to a taxpayer. It is crucial for verifying that taxes deducted have actually been deposited with the government,' says Mundra. Many employees do not report income from fixed deposits or freelance work to their employer. 'As a result, this income, though taxed via TDS and reflected in Form 26AS, is missing from Form 16. If this income is not reported in the ITR, it can trigger income tax notices, delayed refunds, or additional tax demands,' says Mundra. Surana adds that cross-verification also helps verify any other income or high-value transaction reported in Form 26AS that needs to be disclosed in the return. Addressing mismatches TDS mismatches may occur between Form 16 and Form 26AS. 'An incorrect PAN in the employer's records may lead to missing TDS entries in Form 26AS. Mismatches could also happen due to incorrect TDS deposits by the employer,' says Santhosh Sivaraj, partner, global employer services, tax & regulatory services, BDO India. Verify that your PAN is correctly recorded in your employer's records. 'If there is a mismatch, contact your HR or payroll team and have your employer revise the TDS return with the updated details,' says Sivaraj. Once revised, the data will reflect in Form 26AS. Handling errors in Form 16 Form 16's accuracy depends entirely on the correctness of the data fed into it. 'Errors may include incorrect PAN details, omission of deductions due to missing proofs, wrong calculation of HRA or LTA exemptions, or incorrect tax computation. Sometimes the employer might employ an incorrect tax slab or fail to adjust for previous employment income,' says Amit Baid, head of tax, BTG Advaya. For issues in either Part A or Part B, contact the employer's HR or payroll team. 'For errors in Part A, which relate to TDS details generated through TRACES, the employer will need to correct the errors by filing a revised TDS return. For errors in Part B, which has the salary computation and break up prepared by the employer, the payroll or HR team should be approached directly to issue a revised Form 16,' says Baid.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
BDO India in talks with private equity companies to raise growth capital
Mumbai: BDO India , one of the country's leading professional services firms, has held exploratory talks with three or four private equity (PE) companies to raise growth capital , multiple people aware of the plans told ET. BDO would thus become the second top-six firm after Grant Thornton Bharat to seek external funding, reflecting the global trend of PEs buying into the professional services space. As part of the move, BDO India has transitioned its services business operations from a limited liability partnership to a company in a deal valued at '750 crore, clearing the way for a major private equity investment , said people with direct knowledge of the matter. The transaction will entail capital gains tax of '100 crore. The firm is diluting 15-25% stake in its non-audit services company and is looking at dilution of a similar stake in its technology arm, BDO India Technology Solutions (BITS), which develops proprietary tax, audit, accounting and finance tech applications. The funds will be used to expand its market beyond India and drive the consolidation of BDO member firms, especially in the Asia-Pacific region . It is in an advanced stage of acquiring a majority stake in some of the member firms in this region, said one of the sources quoted above. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like After Losing Weight Kevin James Looks Like A Model 33 Bridges Undo People familiar with the conversations between the firm and potential investors said BDO India is seeking aggressive valuations. Demand Premium Live Events "While mid-sized European firms with 3-6% growth are asking for a 1.5-2x revenue multiple, similar firms in the US with 12-14% growth are targeting around 2x. In India, the expectation is significantly higher, and BDO India is reportedly seeking nearly double that," one person said. BDO India LLP is expected to post a top-line of around ₹1,500 crore for FY25-26, following three years of consistent annual growth in the range of 26-30%. Roughly 65% of its revenue now comes from non-audit verticals such as tax, outsourcing, advisory, and deal services. Given that BDO hasn't had any PE deal in its member firms globally BDO India is closely working with BDO International to ensure that there are proper guardrails-like never giving up control- for receiving external funding, said people quoted above. BDO India didn't respond to ET's questionnaire on the subject.
Economic Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
BDO India in talks with private equity companies to raise growth capital
Mumbai: BDO India, one of the country's leading professional services firms, has held exploratory talks with three or four private equity (PE) companies to raise growth capital, multiple people aware of the plans told ET. BDO would thus become the second top-six firm after Grant Thornton Bharat to seek external funding, reflecting the global trend of PEs buying into the professional services space. As part of the move, BDO India has transitioned its services business operations from a limited liability partnership to a company in a deal valued at '750 crore, clearing the way for a major private equity investment, said people with direct knowledge of the matter. The transaction will entail capital gains tax of '100 crore. The firm is diluting 15-25% stake in its non-audit services company and is looking at dilution of a similar stake in its technology arm, BDO India Technology Solutions (BITS), which develops proprietary tax, audit, accounting and finance tech applications. The funds will be used to expand its market beyond India and drive the consolidation of BDO member firms, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. It is in an advanced stage of acquiring a majority stake in some of the member firms in this region, said one of the sources quoted familiar with the conversations between the firm and potential investors said BDO India is seeking aggressive valuations. Demand Premium "While mid-sized European firms with 3-6% growth are asking for a 1.5-2x revenue multiple, similar firms in the US with 12-14% growth are targeting around 2x. In India, the expectation is significantly higher, and BDO India is reportedly seeking nearly double that," one person said. BDO India LLP is expected to post a top-line of around ₹1,500 crore for FY25-26, following three years of consistent annual growth in the range of 26-30%.Roughly 65% of its revenue now comes from non-audit verticals such as tax, outsourcing, advisory, and deal that BDO hasn't had any PE deal in its member firms globally BDO India is closely working with BDO International to ensure that there are proper guardrails-like never giving up control- for receiving external funding, said people quoted India didn't respond to ET's questionnaire on the subject.
Mint
05-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
This Pune resident saved ₹10 lakh in tax by transferring his pension fund to NPS
Pune resident Amit Upadhyay (46) had a large sum of money in a superannuation fund. Contributing to it was compulsory after achieving a certain level of seniority at his previous employer, where he worked for 20 years. "The contributions were a tax-free component of my salary and interest too was not taxable, so I happily went ahead with it," he said. When he moved on to a new job, the second employer had no provision for a superannuation fund, so Upadhyay left his investment as it was. By 2017 it contained ₹ 33 lakh. Had he withdrawn it, it would have become his taxable income for the year. Being in the 30% tax bracket, he would have had to pay nearly ₹ 10 lakh (30% of ₹ 33 lakh) excluding cess and surcharge. If he waited until he turned 60, he would have received a third of it tax-free while the rest would have to be used to buy an annuity. "I did not want to pay such a huge amount of tax by withdrawing it prematurely," he said. Also read: Worried about volatility? Here's where to put your money in uncertain times. Preeti Sharma, partner, global employer services, tax & regulatory services, BDO India, said, 'There are very few approved funds that allow 100% commutation/lump sum withdrawal at the time of retirement. In such a situation, a third of the amount is tax-exempt and the balance is fully taxable. "However, if the balance is invested in an annuity, the employee is not required to pay any tax on it, though the pension from the annuity will be taxed… Any withdrawal before the age of retirement, other than in the event of death, is fully taxable." Union Budget 2017 delivered good news for Upadhyay, as then finance minister, the late Arun Jaitley, announced that a recognised provident fund/superannuation fund could be transferred one-time to the National Pension System (NPS) without any tax liability. "I got hold of the PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) circular. Now I had to reach out to my first employer to start the process," Upadhyay said. The process was simple but time-consuming. "My employer was collecting individual requests from different employees so it could take them up with LIC, which manages the superannuation fund, in one go," he said. Private employees had to follow following steps for the one-time transfer. The very first requirement was an active NPS tier-1 account, which Upadhyay had. They then had to reach out to the superannuation fund manager (LIC in this case) via the employer, requesting it to transfer the funds to the NPS account. The superannuation fund manager would then issue a cheque or draft in the name of the point of presence (PoP) associated with the employer, with the Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) of the employee mentioned. POPs are PFRDA-appointed entities that provide NPS services to subscribers. PRAN is a 12-digit number assigned to individuals enrolled in NPS. Also read | Schengen, US visas: How to crack the application process, plan a smooth holiday It would also issue a letter to the employer or PoP, mentioning that the amount was being transferred from the superannuation fund to the NPS tier-1 account. Finally, the PoP would collect the amount and transfer it to the NPS account. The PFRDA circular read, 'As per provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the amount so transferred from recognised provident fund/superannuation fund to NPS is not treated as income of the current year and hence not taxable. Further, the transferred recognised provident fund/superannuation fund will not be treated as contribution of the current year by employee/employer and accordingly the subscriber would not make income tax claim of contribution for this transferred amount." However, since Upadhyay had moved on to a new job, two POPs were involved. "My first employer only knew how to proceed with the POP associated with it. The second employer had a different POP. Both of my employers supported me and the cheque finally arrived in the name of the POP of my second employer. They deposited it in my NPS account," he said. Though money had been transferred, Upadhyay still cannot access it. "Now, NPS rules will apply to my funds. If I withdraw it now, 20% will be tax-free while the rest will be converted into an annuity. But if I hold it to retirement, 60% of the funds can be withdrawn tax-free. That was not the case with the superannuation fund. Moreover, I presume returns will be better with NPS than with the superannuation fund," he said. Sumit Shukla, managing director and CEO, Axis Pension Fund, said, 'Moving a superannuation fund to NPS is a win-win for employees and employers as the latter won't have to manage a separate trust and incur administration costs, while the former will get investment choices under NPS with better returns and features." To be sure, the 2017 budget announcement for one-time transfers applies to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), too, but unlike PFRDA, the EPFO is yet to define a process for it. Also read: Not many claim mental healthcare insurance. Here's why
