Parliament Question: S&T-PRISM

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 548 ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 S&T-PRISM

548. SHRI B K PARTHASARATHI:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

(a) the number of start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that have applied and been selected under the Promotion of Research and Innovation in Start-ups and MSMEs (S&T-PRISM) initiative, State and year-wise since inception;

(b) the amount of financial assistance sanctioned, released and disbursed to such selected entities, State and year-wise;

(c) the pilot-scale and R&D-scale facilities supported for processing and recovery of rare earth materials including locations, implementing agencies and current status of operation;

(d) whether successful recovery of rare earth minerals has been initiated or achieved through such supported pilot projects;

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the type and quantity of minerals recovered, State and project-wise; and

(f) the details of the technology outcomes, commercial readiness and scale-up plans emerging from such pilot projects? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY)

(a): Since inception, 40 projects out of 394 applications received from Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) under the S&T–PRISM (Promotion of Research & Innovation in Start-ups and MSMEs) component of the Science and Technology (S&T) Programme of Ministry of Mines have been selected on merit basis for financial assistance. The State and year-wise details of applications received and selected under the S&T–PRISM component are at Annexure-I.

(b): Financial assistance of ₹52.13 crore has been sanctioned and ₹23.83 crore have been released to such selected entities. The State and year-wise details of the assistance sanctioned, released/ disbursed are at Annexure-II.

(c) to (f): The details of four pilot-scale and R&D-scale projects supported for processing and recovery of rare earth materials, including their location, implementing agencies and current status are at Annexure-III.One pilot project for production of Neodymium–Praseodymium (Nd–Pr) metal has been successfully completed by M/s Ashvini Rare Earth Pvt. Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra. The project scaled up from laboratory Technology Readiness Level (TRL-4) to TRL-7, demonstrating production of Nd–Pr metal from Nd–Pr oxide through the calciothermic reduction route and approximately 100 kg NdPr metal recovered.

The pilot plant has been commissioned with an installed capacity of approximately 36 tonnes per annum of Nd–Pr metal.

Another completed project, M/s Innocule Materials and Additives Pvt. Ltd., Bhubaneswar, Odisha, has successfully demonstrated the complete process flow for the recovery of scandium oxide from red mud, scaling up from laboratory-scale (TRL-

4) to TRL-6, through an integrated pilot plant capable of processing 2 tonne of red mud per day. Through pilot-scale operations, this facility has produced approximately 250 grams of scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃).

*****Annexure-I Annexure-I referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

548 answered on 22.07.2026 regarding ‘S&T-PRISM’

Table: State and year-wise details of applications received and projects selected under S&T-PRISM component 2023 2024 2025 2026 State/UT Applied Selected Applied Selected Applied Selected Applied Selected Andhra - - - - 2 - 3 1 Pradesh Arunachal - - - - - - 1 - Pradesh Assam 1 - 2 - - - - - Bihar - - 2 - - - 1 - Chhattisgarh 1 - 4 - 1 - 2 - Delhi - - 13 1 2 - 3 - Gujarat 1 - 11 1 1 - 7 - Haryana 1 - 6 - 3 1 6 1 Jammu & - - - - - - 1 - Kashmir Jharkhand 2 - 8 - - - 1 - Karnataka 5 - 19 2 11 1 8 - Kerala - - 2 - - - 2 - Madhya - - - 2 3 1 2 3 Pradesh Maharashtra 5 1 49 7 15 2 19 3 Manipur - - 1 - - - - - Meghalaya 3 1 2 1 - - - - Odisha 9 2 18 5 1 - 6 2 Puducherry - - - - 1 - - - Punjab - - 4 - - - - - Rajasthan - - 7 - 3 - 4 - Tamil Nadu 18 - 20 2 5 1 8 - Telangana 3 - 11 1 3 1 3 1 Tripura - - - - 2 - 1 - - - - Uttar Pradesh 1 1 5 2 2 Uttarakhand - - 4 - - - 1 1 West Bengal 1 - 6 - 4 - 3 - Grand Total 56 5 201 21 56 6 81 8Annexure-II Annexure-II referred to in reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

548 answered on 22.07.2026 regarding ‘S&T-PRISM’

Table: State and year-wise details of the financial assistance sanctioned amount released/disbursed to the selected Start-ups and MSMEs. (in ₹ Lakhs) State/UT Total Amount Released/disbursed Sanctioned 2024 2025 2026 Grant Maharashtra 1527.4 207.66 265.728 39.80 Odisha 1185.92 257.3 151.92 583.14 Uttar Pradesh 116.52 46.6 46.6 - Meghalaya 120 48 48 - Tamil Nadu 347.6 15 120.74 39.12 Karnataka 607.25 80 242.9 30 New Delhi 296 118.4 62.4 - Telangana 348.45 - 139.38 29.69 Gujarat 120 - 72 24 Harayana 269 - 43.6 - Madhya Pradesh 99.75 - 59.85 19.95 Uttarakhand 175 - - - Grand Total 5212.89 689.58 1358.50 334.48Annexure-III Annexure-III referred to in reply to part (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

548 answered on 22.07.2026 regarding ‘S&T-PRISM’

Table: Details of locations, implementing agencies and current status of the

projects for processing and recovery of rare earth materials:

S.No Project Title Details of Implementing Current Facilities agency and Status Location 1 Establishment of Pilot Production of NdPr Ashvini Rare Completed Plant (TRL-7) for metal (≥ 99.8% pure) Earth Pvt Extraction of through calciothermic Ltd, Pune, Neodymium - / metallothermic Maharashtra Praseodymium (Nd-Pr) reduction route at an metal from Neodymium installed capacity of -Praseodymium oxide 36 Tons per Year (Nd-Pr oxide) through Calcio-thermic reduction route for NdFeB Base Permanent Magnet Application 2 SCIN: A process to Pilot production facility Innocule Completed extract scandium oxide for processing 2 tons Materials and from red mud red mud per day Additives Pvt Ltd, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 3 NdPr Metal Production Production of NdPr PG Tech Pvt Progress through Molten Salt metal (≥ 99.9% pure) Ltd, Indore, as per Electrolysis Technology through molten salt Madhya milestone electrolysis route at an Pradesh installed capacity of producing 2Kgs per batch of NdPr metal 4 Solvent Extractants and Scalable process / PolyProtic Progress Ion-Exchange Resin facility to manufacture Chemicals Pvt as per chemicals for Strategic solvent extractants Ltd, Vadodara, milestone and Rare Earth Metal and ion exchange Gujarat Recovery resins based on proprietary processes for recovery of rare earth minerals through solvent extraction and ion exchange routes