NEW DELHI — The Union Government has rolled out a substantial ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme to aggressively boost the recycling of critical minerals from waste sources, including e-waste and spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Approved on September 3, 2025, and launched rapidly on October 2, the scheme is part of the National Critical Mineral Mission, signaling a major strategic effort to secure the supply chain in the near term.
However, the policy’s most significant long-term impact may be the development of sophisticated domestic processing capacity—a necessity that directly ties into future primary mining efforts, particularly in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
What the Recycling Push Means for J&K’s Mining Sector
For the J&K mining sector, which holds India’s most strategic recent mineral discovery—the massive lithium reserves in the Reasi district—the recycling incentive is less about immediate waste collection and more about building the essential downstream ecosystem.
1. Developing Extractive Metallurgy Expertise
The primary goal of the ₹1,500 crore scheme is to incentivize R4 recycling—the full, end-to-end process that converts scrap materials (like battery “black mass”) directly into usable critical metals. This requires sophisticated processes like hydrometallurgy and advanced purification.
Analysis for J&K: The technology and expertise developed for recycling waste (R4) is directly transferable to the processing and refining of newly mined lithium ore from Reasi. By investing in recycling, the Ministry of Mines is ensuring that India has the necessary domestic technical skill and infrastructure to process J&K’s raw material, rather than exporting ore for refining abroad. This policy effectively jump-starts the national metallurgical capacity needed to handle the region’s future output.
2. Validating Long-Term Strategic Value
The national urgency to secure critical minerals, highlighted by this incentive scheme, underscores the strategic importance of J&K’s lithium reserves. The scheme sends a clear signal to prospective investors that the government is fully committed to creating a robust domestic value chain for these minerals. This could attract both Indian and foreign companies looking to set up processing units closer to the source of the primary resource, potentially leading to investment in J&K itself.
3. Fostering a Skilled Workforce
The Ministry of Mines emphasizes that premier institutes like IITs and CSIR have developed indigenous capabilities in mineral processing and are imparting relevant training. As recyclers tie up with these institutes to meet skill requirements, it will create a pool of experts in extractive metallurgy. This talent pool is critical for the long-term success of the J&K primary mining projects, ensuring local and national talent is available to operate complex future processing plants.
Dual-Track Strategy for Critical Mineral Security
With the annual generation of e-waste and spent batteries set to increase manifold, the recycling scheme provides an immediate, secure supply of critical minerals. By capping incentives at ₹50 crores for large recyclers and ₹25 crores for small ones, the government encourages wide participation.
Ultimately, the national critical mineral strategy appears to be a dual-track approach: Recycling provides the short-to-medium term supply and builds the technical know-how, while primary mining in areas like J&K offers the strategic, long-term resource independence needed to meet India’s future energy and technology demands. The success of the recycling scheme will directly pave the way for the efficient and value-added utilization of J&K’s mineral wealth.
