Table 2: India's critical minerals industrial policies

CategorySpecific policyGovernment descriptionBudgetTargets
Regulatory MMDR Amendment Acts (2023, 2026) Opens critical and deep-seated minerals to private/foreign participation, expands auction-based exploration and offshore mining, and constrains new state mineral taxes. NA Twenty-four critical minerals
100% FDI in critical mineral exploration and mining Automatic-route approval for 100% FDI in exploration/mining of specified critical minerals. NA NA
Battery Waste and E-Waste Management Rules (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 2022)

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandate requiring producers to recycle waste batteries and use recycled materials in new batteries.

EPR mandate for electrical/electronic equipment (including solar PV modules/cells) that creates the formal recycling feedstock.

 Compliance cost borne by producers.

Recovery targets rising to 90% for EV/portable batteries and 60% for automotive/industrial batteries by 2026–27; minimum recycled-content mandate for new batteries from FY 2027–28.

Producer recycling targets: 60% (2023–24 and 2024–25) increasing to 70% (2025–26 and 2026–27) and 80% (from 2027–28).
Financial: Capacity and infrastructure grants R&D funding under NCMM (domestic + international collaboration) Funds home-grown innovation and global R&D collaboration on extraction, processing, and recycling technologies. $105 million in NCMM One hundred domestic R&D projects, 1,000 patents, and self-sufficiency in processing for at least five critical minerals by FY 2030–31.
S&T-PRISM (Ministry of Mines, 2023) Funds start-ups and MSMEs bridging the R&D-to-commercialization gap in mining, mineral processing, metallurgy, and recycling. Up to $200,000 per start-up. NA
Critical Mineral Processing Parks Funds dedicated parks to co-locate beneficiation and processing facilities. $53 million in NCMM Four regional mineral processing parks
Stockpiling of Critical Minerals Establishes a National Critical Minerals Stockpile/Reserve to buffer against global supply-chain disruptions. $53 million in NCMM National stockpile covering at least five critical minerals by FY 2030–31
Deep Ocean Mission (Ministry of Earth Sciences, 2021) Funds deep-sea exploration technology for polymetallic nodules/sulphides/crusts. $429 million over 2021–26 ISA exploration contracts covering 75,000 sq km
Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL)—overseas acquisition vehicle PSU joint venture to acquire/develop critical-mineral assets abroad. $1.9 billion cumulative PSU investment by FY 2030–31 Fifty overseas mining assets (26 PSU-led + 24 private) by FY 2030–31; meet 5% of annual critical-mineral demand by 2031.
Financial: Manufacturing incentives PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) (Ministry of Heavy Industry, 2021) Sales-linked incentive for domestic ACC battery manufacturing with phased domestic-value-addition mandates. $1.9 billion (sales-linked incentive, up to $21 [₹2,000]/kilowatt-hour) Fifty gigawatt-hour (GWh) + five GWh niche capacity; 25% domestic value addition in two years rising to 60% in five years.
Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered REPM (Ministry of Heavy Industries, 2025) Builds integrated domestic manufacturing ecosystem for rare-earth permanent magnets (REPMs) in India. $770 million ($680 million incentive + $79 million capex) 6,000 million ton per annum capacity across up to five beneficiaries
Incentive Scheme for Critical Mineral Recycling (2025) Subsidizes recovery of critical minerals from e-waste, lithium-ion battery scrap, and other secondary feedstock $158 million in NCMM Four hundred kilotons of materials recycled by FY 2030–31
PLI Scheme for High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2022) Sales-linked incentive for high-efficiency solar PV module manufacturing capacity. $2.5 billion approved outlay across two tranches. 48,337 megawatt combined manufacturing capacity awarded.
India Semiconductor Mission (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, 2021 and 2026) Fiscal support (up to 50%) for semiconductor fabs and packaging units; drives demand for chip-grade minerals. $8.0 billion (ISM 1.0, 2021) and $13.4 billion (ISM 2.0, 2026) Twelve manufacturing units approved.
Financial: Consumer demand incentives PM E-DRIVE Programme (Ministry of Heavy Industry, 2024) Consumer purchase subsidies for EVs, plus charging/testing infrastructure grants; pulls downstream demand for battery minerals. $1.15 billion over two years (Oct. 2024–March 2026) Around 2.5 million electronic two-wheelers, 0.3 million electronic three-wheelers, 14,000 e-buses, and 72,000 charging stations.
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2024) Direct consumer subsidy for household rooftop solar installation; pulls demand for solar PV modules/cells and associated materials $7.9 billion through FY 2026–27 Ten million households by March 2027
PM KUSUM Scheme (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2019) To provide energy and water security to farmers, increase their income, and de-dieselize the agricultural sector. Has three components: setting up grid-connected renewable energy plants, installing stand-alone solar water pumps, or solarizing existing pumps. $3.5 billion (2019–2027)
Trade Basic Customs Duty (BCD) exemptions on critical minerals Phased elimination of import duty across most of the 30 minerals on the critical list to cut input costs and encourage domestic processing. NA Twenty-five minerals exempted in budget 2024–25 and 12 more in budget 2025–26.

Source: Authors' analysis from Government of India press releases and policy documents from relevant ministries.