**Executive Summary**
This report outlines the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEF&CC) regulatory framework for the Circular Economy and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It details notified rules for multiple waste categories, the implementation status of EPR as of March 5, 2026, and various government initiatives to formalize the recycling sector. Key financial incentives include a ₹1,500 crore scheme for critical mineral recycling and ₹2,000 crore for vehicle scrapping under the SASCI 2025-26 program.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Regulatory Framework for Waste Management**
* **Notified Rules:** Specific EPR and waste management rules have been established for Waste Tyres (2022), Batteries (2022/2024), E-Waste (2022/2023), Plastic Waste (2016/2023), Used Oil (2023), End-of-Life Vehicles (2025), Construction and Demolition Waste (2025), and Non-Ferrous Metal Scrap (2025).
* **EPR Obligations:** Producers, Importers, Brand Owners (PIBOs), and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are legally responsible for the environmentally sound management of products at their end-of-life.
* **Mandatory Targets:** The framework imposes annual targets for recycling and the mandatory use of recycled content in new products.
**Digital and Market Mechanisms**
* **Online Portals:** Operational portals for plastic packaging, e-waste, batteries, waste tyres, and used oil facilitate registration, obligation tracking, and certificate generation.
* **EPR Certificates:** The transfer of EPR certificates provides financial incentives to recyclers, promoting technological upgrades and capacity expansion.
* **Sector Formalization:** The mechanism aims to integrate the informal recycling sector into organized, formal systems to generate jobs across the value chain.
**Government Initiatives and Funding**
* **National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM):** A ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme launched in October 2025 focuses on extracting minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt from e-waste and batteries.
* **Vehicle Scrapping:** The Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (V-VMP) and a ₹2,000 crore allocation under SASCI 2025-26 support the scrapping of unfit vehicles at registered facilities.
* **Infrastructure and Technology:** MoEF&CC and CSIR facilitate technology transfers and the creation of recycling clusters under MSME schemes to improve resource recovery.
* **Mission LiFE:** A citizen-led initiative promoting sustainable lifestyles and waste reduction through mass mobilization and awareness campaigns.
**Impact Analysis**
**Producers, Importers, and Brand Owners (PIBOs/OEMs)**
**Impact:**
Legally mandated to manage the end-of-life stage of their products and meet specific recycling and recycled-content targets.
**Action Required:**
Register on the relevant online EPR portals, fulfill annual recycling obligations, and generate or purchase EPR certificates.
**Recyclers**
**Impact:**
Gain access to financial incentives through the sale of EPR certificates and benefit from government technology transfer and infrastructure support.
**Action Required:**
Register as authorized recyclers, upgrade facilities to meet scientific standards, and utilize EPR portals to issue certificates for processed waste.
**State and UT Governments**
**Impact:**
Responsible for institutional orientation towards a circular economy and providing local incentives via Industrial Policy Resolutions.
**Action Required:**
Implement capital subsidy and investment promotion schemes; establish and manage Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
**Informal Recycling Sector**
**Impact:**
Targeted for transition into the formal value chain through capacity building and MSME recycling clusters.
**Action Required:**
Participate in government-led upgradation projects and formalize operations to benefit from the organized recycling ecosystem.
Key Entities Referenced
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Framework: A market-based regulatory mechanism mandating producers, importers, and brand owners to ensure the environmentally sound management, recycling, and reuse of products at their end-of-life.
Waste Management Rules: A series of statutory regulations (covering plastic, battery, e-waste, tyres, used oil, and scrap metal) notified to implement circular economy principles and mandatory recycling targets.
National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM): A government initiative providing financial incentives for the recycling of critical minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt from spent batteries and electronic waste to build supply chain resilience.
Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (V-VMP): A national policy targeting the scientific scrapping of unfit and polluting vehicles through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) to promote resource recovery.
Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment): A citizen-led initiative focused on promoting sustainable lifestyles and voluntary actions, such as waste reduction and segregation, to support the circular economy.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: Circular Economy
Framework and Extended Producer
Responsibility
Posted On: 23 MAR 2026 6:48PM by PIB Delhi
Under the Circular Economy framework, Waste Management Rules have been notified for different waste
categories such as plastic waste, battery waste, e-waste, waste tyre, used oil, end-of-life vehicles,
construction and demolition waste, non-ferrous scrap metal and Solid Waste.
The detail of Waste Management Rules linked to the circular economy is as follows:
i. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Waste Tyre, 2022 on 21.07.2022.
ii. Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 on 22.08.2022 and its amendments dated 25.10.2023 and
14.03.2024.
iii. E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 on 02.11.2022 and its amendments dated 30.01.2023 and
24.07.2023.
iv. Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 amended on 27.04.2023 for effective implementation of
EPR guidelines.
v. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Used Oil on 18.09.2023.
vi. EPR Framework for Environment Protection (End-of-Life Vehicles) Rules, 2025 on 06.01.2025.
vii. Environment (Construction and Demolition) Waste Management Rules, 2025 on 02.04.2025.
viii. Extended Producer Responsibility for Scrap of Non-Ferrous Metals on 01.07.2025.
MoEF&CC has notified market based Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework under the
waste management rules with provisions for recycling and reuse, thus promoting circular economy in
respective waste categories.
As per the EPR framework, the producer, importer or brand owner (PIBOs)/ Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs) who introduces the product in the market are obligated for its environmentally
sound management after end-of-life of such products. Along with the EPR targets, EPR framework also
imposes mandatory annual targets for recycling and/ or use of recycled content. To promote ease of doing
business, online EPR portals with features for registration, EPR obligations, EPR Certificate generation
etc. have been developed and are operational for plastic packaging, e- waste, battery waste, waste tyre and
used oil waste.
Under the EPR mechanism, the provision of transfer of EPR certificates provides financial incentives to
recyclers, encouraging capacity expansion, technological upgradation and increased recycling activities,
which collectively contribute to generation of jobs across the entire value chain of the recycling sector.Further, the EPR mechanism facilitates formalization of the recycling sector by integrating the informal
recycling sector into organized systems. Status of implementation of EPR frameworks (as on 05.03.2026)
is as follows:
Type of No. of Registered Waste recycled EPR Certificate Generated
Waste Recyclers (MT) (MT)
Plastic Waste 2986 196.97 lakh 196.97 lakh
Battery Waste 520 69.37 Lakh 16.14 Lakh
Tyre Waste 579 122.29 Lakh 116.94 Lakh
E-Waste 386 28.75 Lakh 11.86 Lakh
Used Oil 103 0.19 Lakh 0.02 Lakh
Total 4,574 417.57 341.93
Lakh MT Lakh MT
NITI Aayog launched three Reports on "Enhancing Circular Economy in End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs),
Waste Tyres and E-waste and Lithium-ion Batteries in India" in January, 2026. These reports provide
recommendations for infrastructure development, sector formalisation, strengthening the Extended
Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, and enhancing economic potential for revenue generation.
The 4th National Conference of Chief Secretaries (NCCS) held in New Delhi on 13-15 December 2024
had ‘Circular Economy’ as one of the sub-themes. The Conference was attended by all the State/UTs and
aimed at institutional orientation of all States/UTs for transition to circular economy.
States including Bihar, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh have specific provisions for promotion of circular economy in their
Industrial Policy Resolution. States have also launched capital subsidy schemes as well as investment
promotion incentive schemes to promote recycling and waste processing industries.
Other initiatives of the government for mainstreaming circular economy are as follows:
i. Under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) of Ministry of Mines, launched on 2nd
October, 2025, the Government has approved Rs. 1,500 crore incentive scheme for critical mineral
recycling. The Scheme incentivizes creation of recycling capacity for the extraction of critical
minerals, including lithium, nickel and cobalt, from used products like Spent Lithium- ion batteries
(LiBs) and e-waste to build supply chain resilience and reduce import dependence in critical
minerals.
ii. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has taken initiative to create a complete eco-
system to upgrade informal sector into formal value chain through a project on “Informal Sector
Capacity Building Upgradation with formation of recycling clusters under MSME scheme and
Enabling Technology for Recovery of Resources from Electronic Waste thereby Promoting
Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy”.iii. MoEF&CC has facilitated the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between CSIR
laboratories and recycler organisations on 10th December, 2024, to facilitate technology transfer
and technical support to establish state-of-theart recycling infrastructure and support domestic waste
recycling.
iv. Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), which is a citizen-led initiative that focuses on
inspiring and enabling individuals to adopt sustainable lifestyles through day-to-day voluntary
actions, addresses areas closely linked to circularity, including conservation of energy and water,
waste reduction and segregation, e-waste management, reduced use of single-use plastics, and
sustainable food systems. MoEF&CC in collaboration with various stakeholders including Line
Ministries, State/UT governments has undertaken several mass mobilisation campaigns and
awareness initiatives aligned with the principles of Circular Economy.
v. The Central Government has formulated the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (V-
VMP) that inter-alia targets scrapping of unfit and polluting vehicles strictly based on their fitness,
and promotes setting up of Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities, which is primarily focused
towards the scrapping of unfit vehicles through automated equipment and its scientific recycling.
vi. The Central Government also provides incentives to States/UTs under the Scheme for Special
Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2025- 26. Rs. 2,000 crore has been earmarked
under the Scheme to promote scrapping of vehicles at Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities
(RVSFs) and related implementation measures under the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization
Program.
This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST
AND CLIMATE CHANGE, SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH, in a written reply to a question in Lok
Sabha today.
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