The Niti Aayog has proposed incentives in the form of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, tax breaks, and royalties to encourage the processing and refining of minerals used in lithium-ion batteries as part of the efforts to promote electric vehicles and increase local value addition.
The Salal-Haimana area in Reasi may have 5.99 million tonnes of lithium reserves, according to the Geological Survey of India (GSI), which provided a boost to the nation's push for renewable energy.
The think tank recommended that the Centre accelerate the expansion of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling infrastructure with the PLI programme to support the efforts to extract vital minerals.
Along with the stockpiling of refined mineral precursors used in LIB electrodes, the Niti Aayog has also suggested strengthening the state-run Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) in order to engage in collaborative exploration and mining operations in important mineral-rich foreign nations.
To facilitate the due diligence process for greenfield or brownfield mining assets, the think tank recommended that Indian businesses make acquisitions and investments in important mineral-bearing foreign countries and that Indian missions in these countries be strengthened further. For strong supply chains, the Niti Aayog also urged coordination among stakeholders.
Critical battery minerals supply chain should be prioritised by key stakeholders as a crucial tenet of the Indo-Pacific economic framework and a crucial element in diplomatic outreach with mineral-rich foreign nations R&D to develop recycling, extraction technologies and find earth-abundant substitutes for critical battery minerals.
The think tank also urged for national competitions to produce high-performance LIB electrodes made from earth-abundant substitutes and direct lithium extraction technologies from saltwater.