New Delhi: A government scheme being readied to build the country's battery minerals processing value chain could trim India's reliance on imports and strengthen domestic supplies, the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) said on Tuesday.
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The recycling industry body said in a statement that the Ministry of Mines is likely to launch the programme, aimed at developing the critical minerals processing value chain for battery minerals, shortly.
"The scheme promotes the recycling-based recovery of 27 critical minerals and incentivises actual mineral extraction and processing rather than merely producing black mass. It is expected to generate e-waste recycling capacity of approximately 300,000 tonnes annually by 2030, with the potential for significantly higher capacity based on industry interest and investments," the MRAI statement said, quoting Mines Secretary Piyush Goyal.
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MRAI President Sanjay Mehta said fresh mining alone could not keep pace with the country's rising mineral demand and made the case for recycling to take on a far larger role in securing supplies.
"Recycling must become India's second pillar of resource security. Mining alone cannot meet future demand. The second pillar of resource security must be recycling. Urban mines are becoming as important as natural mines," Mehta said.
Mehta also sought the creation of a centralised nodal authority to resolve the problems faced by the recycling sector.
