Cabinet approves capex support scheme to promote Critical Mineral processing with an Outlay of Rs 2814 Crore

The Union Cabinet has approved the ‘Capex Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing’ with a financial outlay of Rs.2,814 crore over a period of five years. Processing of critical minerals remains geographically concentrated in a few global locations. This exposes supply chains to geopolitical disruptions, price volatility, and potential supply restrictions, posing severe threats to supply chain resilience and economic security. This has implications for national security, economic sovereignty, and the timely achievement of decarbonisation targets.

At present, India remains substantially dependent on imports for refined intermediates and high-purity materials, owing to the nascent stage of domestic beneficiation and processing infrastructure for critical minerals, including Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt. Domestic processing capacity for critical minerals remains limited, with commercial-scale projects facing challenges relating to high capital requirements, limited availability of suitable technologies and constrained access to raw materials.

Domestic processing capacity is therefore imperative for maximising value addition, achieving import substitution, and establishing resilient end-to-end value chains. Against this backdrop, the “Capex Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing” has been formulated to provide targeted capital expenditure support for the establishment and operationalisation of domestic processing facilities.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News