India's Critical Mineral Mission: Centre Issues Guidelines For Rs 1,500 Crore Recycling Scheme, Applications Open Till 1 April 2026

The Ministry of Mines has released detailed guidelines for the Rs 1,500-crore Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Critical Mineral Recycling, following its approval by the Union Cabinet on 3 September.

The guidelines, issued on 2 October, mark the implementation of the scheme aimed at strengthening India’s recycling ecosystem for critical minerals essential to clean energy and high-tech manufacturing.

According to the ministry, the scheme is a key component of the National Critical Mineral Mission and seeks to build domestic recycling capacity for extracting critical minerals from secondary sources such as e-waste, spent lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), and other industrial scrap.

The guidelines lay out the scheme’s modalities — including indicative outlays for recycling systems, methodology for incentive allocation, application, evaluation and disbursement procedures, institutional mechanism, and performance review.

The ministry said these details were finalised after extensive consultations with industry representatives and other stakeholders.

Both established recyclers and start-ups will be eligible to apply.

Incentives will support new investments, as well as capacity expansion, modernisation, or diversification of existing recycling units.

However, the benefits will only cover operations directly engaged in the extraction and separation of critical minerals, not the value chain involved in only black mass production.

Applications for the scheme opened on 2 October, and will remain active for six months — until 1 April 2026.

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