India to Offer Incentives for Lithium and Nickel Processing

India's Ministry of Mines is preparing to introduce a new policy. This policy will offer incentives for processing lithium and nickel. The initiative has an estimated outlay of 30 billion rupees. This move is crucial for India's electric vehicle goals. The nation aims for significant electric car and two-wheeler penetration by 2030.

NEW DELHI: India's federal ​Ministry of Mines ​is expected to shortly unveil a ​policy with incentives to process lithium and nickel with an outlay of around Rs 3,000 crore ($313.48 million), ‌according to ⁠two ⁠sources familiar with the matter.

The sources did not ​want to be identified publicly because they were not ​authorised to speak to the media. The mines ministry did not immediately respond to ​a Reuters email seeking comment.

In January, Reuters reported ​that the ​incentive policy would cover lithium ⁠and nickel.

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In April, the mines secretary ​said that the government had shortlisted ​two critical minerals linked to securing an electric vehicle value system for processing policy, without elaborating further.

Nickel and lithium are critical to India's EV supply chain, ‌especially when it comes to batteries, as New Delhi targets 30% electric car penetration and 80% ⁠for two-wheelers by 2030 from 6% and 9% at present.

To qualify for the incentives, lithium ​processing plants must have a minimum capacity of 30,000 metric tons, while nickel plants must have at least 50,000 tons, Reuters reported earlier.

($1 = 95.7000 Indian rupees)