New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- The Union Cabinet approved the "Capex Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing" with a total outlay of Rs 2,814 crore over five years, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a Cabinet briefing.

The initiative provides capital expenditure assistance to establish and operationalise domestic processing facilities, targeting the conversion of lithium and nickel ores or intermediary products into high-purity compounds.

Cobalt recovery is also slated as a by-product of nickel production. The financial outlay covers the period from fiscal year 2026-27 to 2030-31 to build processing infrastructure for sectors including electric mobility, battery energy storage systems, defence, electronics, and speciality ...