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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINES
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †3944
ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026
NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERAL MISSION
†3944. SHRI DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY:
Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:
(a) whether any comprehensive action plan is being implemented by the Government
to promote the recycling and recovery of critical minerals under the National Critical
Mineral Mission (NCMM) and if so, the detail thereof;
(b) the details of the approved projects, research and development activities, recycling
facilities established, funds allocated and spent along with major achievements made
regarding the recycling of critical minerals under the Mission during the last three
years;
(c) whether the Government is providing financial, technical and policy incentives to
industries, start-ups and research institutions for the recovery and recycling of lithium,
cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements from used batteries, e-waste, solar
photovoltaic modules, electric vehicles and other secondary sources; and
(d) if so, the steps being taken by the Government to develop domestic recycling
capacity, reduce import dependence and promote a Circular Economy by the year
2030?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES
(SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY)
(a) to (b): Under National Critical Mineral Mission, ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme for
Promotion of Critical Mineral Recycling was launched on 02.10.2025 to promote
establishment of domestic recycling capacity for extraction of critical minerals from
secondary sources like e-waste, spent lithium-ion batteries and other critical mineral-
bearing scrap. The last date for applications under the Scheme was 01.04.2026. Out
of 71 applications received, 58 recycling entities were declared eligible with pledged
capacity of around 850 kilo tons per annum (KTPA) against 270 KTPA target capacity
and pledged investment of more than ₹5,200 crore. Incentive under the Scheme is
linked to the commencement of commercial production of critical minerals. Further,
guidelines for funding pilot projects for recovery of critical minerals from overburden,
tailings/ fly ash/ red mud, etc., were issued on 14.11.2025, and one project of the Non-
Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre for recovery of REEs from multiplefeedstocks has been approved. Also, Ministry of Mines has formulated a ‘Policy for
exploration of critical minerals in new projects and Recovery of Critical Minerals from
overburden, dumps and tailing of Existing Mines, 2025’ which aims at ensuring
systematic identification, assessment and recovery of critical and strategic minerals
from the new exploration projects as well as existing mines.
(c) to (d): To promote domestic recycling capacity and reduce import dependence
through recovery and recycling of critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel,
graphite and rare earth elements from secondary sources, the Government has
launched the ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme for recycling, as detailed above.
Additionally, Ministry of Mines provides financial support for research and technology
development in critical mineral value chain, including recycling, under the Research &
Development (R&D) and S&T–PRISM (Promotion of Research & Innovation in Start-
ups and MSMEs) components of the Science & Technology Programme. During the
last three years, 47 R&D projects on critical mineral recycling have been sanctioned
with financial assistance of ₹19.8 crore. Further, since FY 2023-24, 4 projects of
MSMEs and start-ups have been sanctioned with financial support of ₹4.62 crore
under S&T–PRISM component, for recovery and recycling of lithium, cobalt, nickel,
graphite and rare earth elements from used batteries, e-waste, solar photovoltaic
modules, electric vehicles and other secondary sources. In addition, to facilitate the
availability of critical mineral- bearing waste and scrap, basic custom duty on waste
and scrap of lithium-ion battery, and waste and scrap of some important critical
minerals was eliminated under the Union Budget 2025-26.
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