Vedanta Drives India’s Largest Q1-FY26 Investment with Dhenkanal Aluminium Project: CMIE Report
30th July 2025
- India’s largest Q1-2025 capex signals private sector confidence with the company’s 3 MTPA smelter and 4,900 MW power plant
New Delhi, 29th July, 2025: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, takes top spot as the biggest manufacturing investment of Q1-FY26 with its ₹1.3 trillion greenfield aluminium smelter project in Odisha. As part of the project, the company will set up a 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) aluminium smelter and a 4,900 MW captive power plant near Kamakhyanagar in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district. The project will create over 2 lakh jobs and provide a major economic thrust to the region through auxiliary industries, logistics, and infrastructure upgrades. In Q1-FY26, private sector investments totalled ₹3.5 trillion, with manufacturing emerging as the dominant driver, accounting for over half of all new project announcements. This includes Vedanta’s landmark investment, the highest in the quarter, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data.
This landmark commitment reflects Vedanta’s long-term vision to position India as a global hub for manufacturing. The project, which is set to be among the largest aluminium smelters in the world upon completion, reflects Vedanta’s continued confidence in India’s resource-rich ecosystem, and the country’s global competitiveness in the industrial metals sector. Vedanta’s Dhenkanal Aluminium Smelter is set to generate over 2 lakh jobs and unlock opportunities for thousands of MSMEs, powering key sectors like automotive, power, construction, and railways.
At a time when global headwinds are tempering economic optimism, India’s manufacturing sector is emerging as the engine of long-term growth and industrial resilience. Private sector-led capital expenditure, now the dominant force in new project announcements, signals a structural shift in confidence, with manufacturers making bold, future-focused investments. Manufacturing-led capex not only drives GDP and export potential but also generates large-scale employment, strengthens local ecosystems, and seeds critical infrastructure. It is this kind of strategic, value-creating investment that will define India’s ascent as a global industrial and economic powerhouse.
Commenting on the significance of this project, Rajiv Kumar, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, said, “The greenfield aluminium smelter in Odisha will not only reinforce India’s position as a global aluminium powerhouse but also catalyse regional development through jobs, industrial innovation, and sustainable value chains. At a time when manufacturing-led investments are emerging as the backbone of India’s economic resurgence, it is a proud moment for us to lead one of the largest industrial commitments of this decade. We are honoured to contribute meaningfully to Odisha’s transformation and to India’s journey towards becoming a global manufacturing and green metals hub.”
The smelter in Dhenkanal is expected to play a pivotal role in meeting the growing domestic and international demand for high-quality aluminium, driven by sectors such as electric mobility, renewable energy, infrastructure, and defence. Aligned with the company’s sustainability goals, focussing on achieving Net Zero Carbon status by 2050 or sooner, the new facility will integrate advanced technologies to optimise energy use and reduce emissions, reinforcing the company’s commitment to responsible manufacturing.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
