Govt may formalise incentives for critical minerals recycling this year

India plans to launch incentives for the recycling of 24 critical minerals this year including lithium and cobalt, two sources aware of the matter said, as part of efforts to secure the minerals needed for green energy transition.

India has identified the 24 minerals as strategic and critical to its efforts to meet clean energy goals and move towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.

It has already set aside Rs 1,500 crore for the recycling of these minerals, as part of an Rs 16,300 crore outlay to develop the critical minerals sector.

The incentives could take the form of subsidies on capital expenditure or incentives linked to production, the sources said, declining to be identified as the details are not public.

One source said the money would be spent over four to five years and should be sufficient to kickstart the industry.

Among other things, the scheme should help to expand India's capacity to recycle lithium-ion batteries from the current 75,000 metric tons a year, one of the sources said.

To boost availability, the government in February scrapped customs duty on the waste and scrap of a dozen critical substances including lead, zinc and cobalt powder as well as lithium-ion batteries.

Some of these are essential for electric vehicles, whose production India is trying to encourage to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

EV sales accounted for just 2.5 per cent of the 4.3 million cars sold in India in 2024, but were up 20 per cent against just 5 per cent for the overall car market. Analysts expect sales to double to around 200,000 in 2025, mainly due to new launches.