About CAPEX Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing:
- It provides targeted capital expenditure (CAPEX) support for establishing domestic critical mineral processing facilities.
- Time Period: It will run for five years, from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Mines, Government of India.
- Objectives:
- Promote domestic processing capacity: Help set up high-purity Lithium and Nickel processing plants.
- Lithium plants will process ores and concentrates (excluding brines) into battery-grade products, while nickel plants will produce Class-1 nickel or battery-grade nickel sulphate, with cobalt recovery.
- Build a resilient value chain: Strengthen the Lithium and Nickel value chain by filling the missing link in processing.
- Financial Outlay and Support:
- The scheme offers a capital subsidy of 30% of eligible investment for setting up four processing plants.
- These include two Lithium plants of at least 30 kt capacity each and two Nickel plants of at least 50 kt capacity each.
- Support is capped at ₹500 crore per Lithium beneficiary and ₹900 crore per Nickel beneficiary.
- Selection and disbursement:
- Beneficiaries will be selected through a two-stage process: technical qualification followed by financial bidding.
- Two beneficiaries will be selected for each mineral based on the least-cost criterion, prioritising bidders seeking the lowest government support.
- Incentives will be disbursed in three tranches linked to the achievement of specified milestones.
