Context
Recently the Ministry of Mines is designing a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to boost the recycling of critical minerals in India.
About
- The proposed PLI scheme aligns with coverage recommendations from NITI Aayog, and complements the Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR), 2022, which mandate phased recycling of used electric vehicles (EV) lithium-ion batteries from 2026 onwards.
- The PLI scheme will target e-waste recycling– often called “city mining”– to recover crucial minerals consisting of lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, chromium, and silicon.
Need for the Critical Mineral Recycling
- Waste technology: India’s e-waste generation is poised to surge, pushed by rapid increase in solar and wind power infrastructure and EV adoption.
- The PV module waste will grow from one hundred kilotons in FY23 to 340 kilotons by 2030. Additionally, 500 kt of EV batteries are anticipated to attain recycling units in the coming years.
- Scarce reserves: Manufacturing renewable strength technology and transition to electric powered vehicles could require increasing quantities of minerals, such as copper, manganese, zinc, and indium.
- However, India does not have many of those mineral reserves, or its necessities may be higher than the availability.
What are Critical Minerals?
- These are minerals which can be important for financial development and national security.
- The lack of availability of those minerals or the concentration of extraction or processing in some geographical locations should probably result in “supply chain vulnerabilities and even disruption of elements”.
Applications of Critical Minerals
- Clean technology projects inclusive of 0-emission automobiles, wind mills, solar panels etc.
- Critical minerals which include Cadmium, Cobalt, Gallium, Indium, Selenium and Vanadium and have made use of in batteries, semiconductors, solar panels, etc.
- Advanced production inputs and substances which include defense programs, permanent magnets, ceramics.
- Minerals like Beryllium, Titanium, Tungsten, Tantalum, and so on. Have usage in new technology, electronics and security units.
- Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) are utilized in scientific units, cancer treatment drugs, and dental materials.
List of Critical Minerals
- Different countries have their own particular lists of crucial minerals primarily based on their precise circumstances and priorities.
- A total of 30 minerals had been discovered to be maximum essential for India, out of which are critical as fertilizer minerals: Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.
Conclusion
- This pass will foster a circular economy and bolster home supply chains, following a lackluster reaction to current auctions of vital mineral blocks.
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2040, recycled copper, lithium, nickel, and cobalt from spent batteries alone ought to offer 10% of these minerals. However recycling can only ease essential minerals scarcity, no longer resolve it.
Source: The Indian Express
UPSC Mains Practice Question
Q. Despite India being one of the countries of Gondwanaland, its mining industry contributes much less to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in percentage. Discuss. (2021)
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