Government Launches Rs.1,500 Crore Incentive Scheme to Boost Critical Mineral Recycling

New Delhi – The Ministry of Mines has released detailed guidelines for a ?1,500 crore incentive scheme aimed at promoting critical mineral recycling, part of India’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign sources of these vital resources.

The scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet on September 3, 2025, forms a key pillar of the National Critical Mineral Mission. It seeks to expand the country’s recycling capacity for extracting critical minerals from secondary sources, including e-waste, spent Lithium-ion batteries, and other scrap materials.

According to the official statement, the guidelines outline the scheme’s framework — covering indicative investment outlays, incentive allocation methodology, application and evaluation procedures, disbursement mechanism, institutional arrangements, and performance review. The policy was finalised after extensive consultations with industry stakeholders.

The scheme targets both established large recyclers and smaller players, including start-ups. Incentives will be available for investments in new units as well as for the expansion, modernisation, or diversification of existing facilities. However, support is limited to activities involved in actual extraction of critical minerals, excluding units engaged only in black mass production.

Applications for the scheme opened on October 2, 2025, and will remain open for six months until April 1, 2026. Complete guidelines and the application portal are available on the Ministry of Mines website.

To ensure broad participation, the total incentive per entity (Capex plus Opex subsidy) is capped at ?50 crore for large entities and ?25 crore for small entities, with Opex subsidies capped at ?10 crore and ?5 crore, respectively.

The scheme is expected to create at least 270 kilotonnes of annual recycling capacity, yielding around 40 kilotonnes of critical minerals per year. It is projected to attract investments of approximately ?8,000 crore and generate nearly 70,000 direct and indirect jobs across the sector.

With inputs from IANS