The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the ‘Capex Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing’ with a financial outlay of Rs.2,814 crore over five years. The scheme aims to develop domestic processing capabilities for Lithium, Nickel, and Cobalt.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, 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.
Geographically concentrated critical mineral processing poses risks to supply chain resilience and economic security due to potential supply disruptions and price volatility. This is particularly relevant for India, which currently heavily relies on imports for refined intermediates and high-purity materials due to limited domestic beneficiation and processing infrastructure.
The new scheme aims to address these challenges by providing targeted capital expenditure support for the establishment of domestic processing facilities. The scheme targets processing of Lithium and Nickel ores/intermediary products into high purity compounds, with Cobalt expected to be recovered as a by-product of nickel production.
Under the scheme, capital subsidy of 30% will be provided for setting up four critical mineral processing plants, comprising two lithium processing plants (with a minimum capacity of 30 kt each) and two nickel processing plants (with a minimum capacity of 50 kt each). The maximum capital support will be capped at Rs.500 crore per lithium beneficiary and Rs.900 crore per nickel beneficiary, respectively.
The selection of beneficiaries shall be carried out through a two-stage process. In the first stage, applications shall be assessed for technical qualification, and only technically qualified applicants shall be eligible to participate in the second stage of financial bidding. For each mineral, two beneficiaries shall be selected based on the least-cost criterion, i.e., the lowest CAPEX support sought by the bidders under the Scheme.
The incentives will be disbursed in three tranches linked to the achievement of specified milestones.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
