The Indian government has approved a 15bn rupee ($170mn) incentive scheme to develop its capacity to recycle critical minerals out of waste materials such as e-waste, lithium-ion battery scraps and other scraps.
The government expects the incentive to help develop "at least" 270,000t/yr of recycling capacity that can produce about 40,000 t/yr of critical minerals, said the government in a statement on 3 September. The country in 2023 outlined its critical minerals list, which included minerals like cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium and rare earth elements.
"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," said the Indian government.
The scheme, which sits under the National Critical Mineral Mission, will be in place for six years from the government's 2025-26 fiscal year to its 2030-31 fiscal year. The scheme is applicable to investments in new units as well as capacity expansion or changes to existing units across both large and small recyclers, and it sets aside one-third of the funding for small and new recyclers.
The Indian government will provide up to 20pc of capital expenditure subsidy on plant, equipment and associated utilities, as well as an operational expenditure subsidy that ties to sales. It will cap the total incentive to Rs500mn for every large entity and Rs250mn for every small entity, with an operational expenditure ceiling of Rs100mn for every large entity and Rs50mn for every small entity. The cap is to "ensure a greater number of beneficiaries", it said.
The Indian government earlier this year removed the custom duties on some critical minerals, expecting it to cut the raw materials costs for the domestic recycling industry.
