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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025

--Cabinet OKs INR 15 bln for scheme to promote critical mineral recycling 

NEW DELHI – The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved an INR-15-billion incentive scheme to develop recycling capacity in the country for the separation and production of critical minerals from secondary sources. The scheme will run for six years from 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to FY31, the government said in a statement.

This scheme, part of the National Critical Mineral Mission, aims at building the domestic capacity and supply chain resilience in critical minerals. The critical mineral value chain comprising exploration, auction and mine operationalisation, and acquisition of foreign assets, has a gestation period before they could supply critical minerals to Indian industry. "A prudent way to ensure supply chain sustainability in the near term is through the recycling of secondary sources," the government said in a statement.

Eligible feedstock for the same can include e-waste, lithium-ion battery scraps, other scraps such as catalytic convertors in end-of-life vehicles. Expected beneficiaries will be both large, established recyclers, as well as small, new recyclers including start-ups, for whom one-third of the scheme outlay has been earmarked, the statement said.

The scheme will be applicable to investments in new units as well as expansion of capacity and modernisation and diversification of existing units. The scheme will provide incentive for the recycling value chain which is involved in actual extraction of critical minerals, and not the value chain involved in only black mass production, the statement said.

The incentives under the scheme will comprise 20% capital expenditure subsidy on plant and machinery, equipment and associated utilities for starting production within specified timeframe, beyond which reduced subsidy will be applicable. An operational expenditure subsidy--an incentive on incremental sales over the base year--will also be provided, the government said. The subsidy will be 40% of eligible operational expenditure subsidy in the second year and 60% in the fifth year on achievement of specified threshold incremental sales, it said. 

"In order to ensure greater number of beneficiaries," the government has placed caps on total incentive per entity. As per the statement, large entities will be eligible to receive up to INR 500 million, while small entities can receive up to INR 250 million. Within these limits, the operational expenditure subsidy will be capped at INR 100 million for large entities and INR 50 million for small entities, the government said.

The government expects the scheme incentives to develop at least 270,000 tonnes of annual recycling capacity resulting in around 40,000 toones of annual critical mineral production, bringing in about INR 80 billions worth of investment and creating close to 70,000 direct and indirect jobs, it said in the statement.   End

Reported by Pallavi Singhal

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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