In a continuing quest to encourage small and medium firms in the clean energy sector, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exempted cobalt powder and waste, the scrap of lithium-ion batteries, lead, zinc, and 12 other critical minerals from basic customs duty.
In her July 2024 Budget, Ms Sitharaman had already exempted 25 critical minerals that are not domestically available from the basic customs duty net.
Produce, recycle, acquire
The National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM), being set up under the Ministry of Mines, also got an allocation of ₹410 crore for 2025-26, with a mandate to enhance domestic production, recycle critical minerals, and acquire critical mineral assets located in other countries. This will include technology development, skilled workforce creation, the establishment of an extended producer responsibility framework, and implementation of a suitable financing mechanism, according to the Budget documents.
Earlier this week, the Union Cabinet approved the NCMM with a budgetary outlay of ₹16,300 crore over a seven year period, with an additional ₹18,000 crore expected in investments from central public sector undertakings.
In the realm of clean energy, the government’s priorities continued to be aligned to the PM Surya Ghar Mission, under which the government has committed to fund rooftop solar installations in one crore households. So far, 8.5 lakh households have benefitted under the scheme.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy expects to spend ₹20,000 crore on this scheme in 2025-26, up from the ₹11,100 crore spent in 2024-25.
Published – February 01, 2025 10:05 pm IST
