Parliament Question: National Critical Mineral Mission

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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