The government has approved a Rs 2,814 crore scheme to promote processing of critical minerals such as lithium and nickel. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the decision along with several others. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the information during a press briefing. While sharing the details, Vaishnaw said that India’s Critical Minerals Mission has been progressing in a systematic and methodical manner.
“A major decision taken today is the approval of a scheme for the processing of critical minerals. The scheme will focus on processing raw materials, whether obtained through mining or recycling, to a stage ready for manufacturing. The scheme will cover all 24 critical minerals identified by the government. It will include both recycled raw materials and materials extracted from mines. This will provide a major boost to manufacturing, including electronics, semiconductors, batteries, defence equipment, heavy equipment and machinery. All these sectors use critical minerals and will benefit from the scheme,” he said.
Rs 14,500 crore viability gap funding scheme
The Cabinet has also approved Rs 14,500 crore in viability gap funding for 92 GWh of grid-scale energy storage systems between FY27 and FY31. This development is significant given India’s ambitious target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
The scheme aims to support the development of 92 GWh of storage capacity across three technologies — Battery Energy Storage System (30 GWh), Pumped Storage Projects (60 GWh), and Emerging Storage Technologies (2GW), Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a media briefing.
The minister said the scheme will be implemented for five years till 2030-31.
Rs 4,371-cr scheme to transform official statistical ecosystem
The Cabinet has also approved a scheme to transform India’s official statistical ecosystem, with an outlay of Rs 4,371.1 crore.
The Viksit Bharat Initiative for statistical transformation, analytics and research (VISTAR) scheme spans five years till 2030-31.
The scheme aims to establish a dynamic, real-time and future-ready official statistical architecture.
Key objectives of the scheme are enhanced timeliness, data granularity, interoperability with harmonised data sets, and AI-ready databases.
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