{"id":41399,"date":"2024-07-03T07:30:41","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T02:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=41399"},"modified":"2025-10-13T12:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T07:22:08","slug":"pli-scheme-to-boost-the-recycling-of-critical-minerals-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pli-scheme-to-boost-the-recycling-of-critical-minerals-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"PLI Scheme to Boost the Recycling of Critical Minerals in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What are Critical Minerals?<\/li>\n<li>Measures Initiated by the GoI to Attain Self-reliance in Critical Minerals<\/li>\n<li>Recycling of Critical Minerals in India<\/li>\n<li>Proposed PLI Scheme to Boost the Recycling of Critical Minerals in India<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to encourage the recycling of critical minerals in India is being designed by the Ministry of Mines.<\/li>\n<li>It is intended to complement the Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR) 2022 and is in line with <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/niti-aayogs-eighth-governing-council-meet\/\" target=\"_blank\">NITI Aayog<\/a> policy recommendations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What are Critical Minerals?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A mineral is critical<\/strong> when the risk of supply shortage and associated impact on the economy is (relatively) higher than other raw materials.<\/li>\n<li>These minerals are <strong>essential for economic development and national security<\/strong>, and their lack of availability\/ the concentration of extraction\/ processing in a few geographical locations could potentially lead to<strong> supply chain vulnerabilities<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>These minerals (such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, titanium, and rare earth elements) are essential for the advancement of many sectors, including <strong>high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transport, and defence.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It forms part of multiple strategic value chains<\/strong>, including &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Clean technologies<\/strong> initiatives such as zero-emission vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Information and communication technologies<\/strong>, including semiconductors; and<\/li>\n<li><strong>Advanced manufacturing inputs and materials<\/strong> such as Defence applications, permanent magnets, ceramics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Though India has not been a dominant player<\/strong> in the global supply chain for various critical minerals, it has been working to strengthen its position in the mining and processing of critical minerals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Ministry of Mines has actively engaged<\/strong> with resource-rich countries for access to critical minerals as well as domestic exploration and auction of critical mineral blocks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Measures Initiated by the GoI to Attain Self-reliance in Critical Minerals:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Geological Survey of India (GSI):<\/strong> An attached office of the Ministry of Mines, the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/geological-survey-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\">GSI<\/a> has recently carried out mineral exploration in Salal-Haimna areas (Reasi district, J&amp;K), and estimated 5.9 million tonnes of <strong>lithium ore.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL): <\/strong>A joint venture company namely KABIL is mandated to identify and acquire overseas mineral assets of critical and strategic nature (lithium, cobalt) to ensure supply side assurance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mineral Security Partnership (MSP): <\/strong>India has recently been inducted into the MSP, a US-led collaboration of 14 countries that aims to catalyse public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains globally.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) [MMDR] Act:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The MMDR Act 1957 was <strong>amended in 2023<\/strong>, empowering the central government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite licence for 24 critical minerals.<\/li>\n<li>The objective of this amendment is to <strong>increase exploration<\/strong> and mining of critical minerals and <strong>ensure self-sufficiency<\/strong> in supply of critical minerals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Recycling of Critical Minerals in India:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Opportunity for India:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>India is currently the third-biggest contributor to e-waste<\/strong>, with 3.3 million tonnes produced in 2019, compared to 53.6 million tonnes globally.<\/li>\n<li><strong>E-waste contains many reusable materials<\/strong>, including base metals, precious metals, and rare earth elements.<\/li>\n<li>Hence, <strong>there will be a large scope for critical minerals\u2019 recovery<\/strong> from discarded e-wastein the coming few years.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China<\/strong>, for example, has succeeded in producing more cobalt by recycling than by mining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Advantages of recycling critical minerals:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Promoting the recycling of e-waste would provide an opportunity to<strong> stabilise the market with assured domestic supplies <\/strong>of critical raw materials (CRMs).<\/li>\n<li>It will <strong>conserve energy and the environment <\/strong>by reducing requirements from mines.<\/li>\n<li>Recycled metals can be 2 to 10 times <strong>more energy-efficient<\/strong> than metals smelted from virgin ore.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Challenges for India:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s e-waste generation is poised to surge, driven by rapid growth in solar and wind energy infrastructure and EV adoption.<\/li>\n<li><strong>However, recycling rates in India are currently low<\/strong>, with some lead, copper and nickel success.<\/li>\n<li>Much of the e-waste management in India is done by the <strong>informal sector<\/strong>, including collection, segregation, dismantling, and recycling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Steps taken by India:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The BWMR 2022<\/strong> requires the recycling of used EV lithium-ion batteries in a phased manner starting in 2026.<\/li>\n<li>These rules mandate that producers of batteries containing lithium, nickel, cobalt, and lead ensure environmentally sound management of waste batteries through <strong>Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Proposed PLI Scheme to Boost the Recycling of Critical Minerals in India:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Background: <\/strong>In a report released in 2023, NITI Aayog recommended a PLI scheme for critical mineral recycling in line with the Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) PLI scheme given to cell manufacturers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>About the scheme:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The PLI scheme will target e-waste recycling (often referred to as \u201c<strong>urban mining<\/strong>\u201d) to recover critical minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, chromium, and silicon.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It will incentivise production of recycled critical minerals<\/strong> for secondary use and promote investment in advanced recycling technologies and infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The quantum of incentive<\/strong> is likely to vary based on the type and value of minerals recycled.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong> This move aims to foster a <strong>circular economy<\/strong> and bolster domestic supply chains, following a weak response to recent auctions of critical mineral blocks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q.1. What is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?<\/h3>\n<p>EPR is a policy approach that makes producers responsible for their products along the entire lifecycle, including at the post-consumer stage. By doing so, it helps achieve environmental goals such as recycling targets.<\/p>\n<h3>Q.2. What are the steps taken by the Indian government to boost the circular economy?<\/h3>\n<p>GoI has notified several rules, including the rules on Plastic Waste Management, e-waste Management, Construction and Demolition waste management, and policy on Metals Recycling to promote a circular economy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/critical-mineral-recycling-govt-plans-pli-scheme-to-boost-circular-economy-9429216\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Critical mineral recycling: Govt plans PLI scheme to boost circular economy<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1985839\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-insight\/economy\/mine-the-gap-reclaiming-critical-minerals-from-urban-mines-101676372468809.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">HT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A PLI scheme to encourage the recycling of critical minerals in India is being designed by the Ministry of Mines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}