Govt clears ₹1.5k cr incentive scheme to promote critical mineral recycling

The Cabinet on Wednesday gave its go-ahead to a Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme to promote recycling of critical minerals in the country.

The decision was taken during the cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The scheme aims at developing recycling capacity in the country for the separation and production of critical minerals from secondary sources. These include e-waste, Lithium Ion Battery (LIB) scrap, and scrap other than e-waste & LIB scrap, such as catalytic converters in end-of-life vehicles.

"The Union Cabinet...today approved a Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme," the mines ministry said in a statement.

This scheme is part of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), which is aimed at building the domestic capacity and supply chain resilience in critical minerals.

Earlier, the government approved a Rs 16,300-crore National Critical Mineral Mission, with a total outlay of Rs 34,300 crore spread over seven years, aiming to achieve self-reliance and accelerate India's journey towards green energy transition.

Public sector enterprises are expected to contribute Rs 18,000 crore to the mission.

Critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are essential raw materials required to fuel the growth of rapidly growing clean energy technologies.

The major objectives of this mission are to increase exploration, reduce import dependence, acquire mineral blocks overseas, develop technologies for processing of critical minerals and recycle minerals.