CAPEX Scheme Backs Lithium, Nickel Units with Rs 2,814 Crore

India now has a dedicated capital subsidy window for refining critical minerals at home. The CAPEX Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing, cleared by the Union Cabinet on 4 November 2026, carries an outlay of Rs 2,814 crore and runs for five financial years, from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. It is administered by the Ministry of Mines.

What the scheme pays for

The window offers a capital subsidy of 30 per cent of eligible investment for four plants: two for lithium and two for nickel. Every lithium unit must have a capacity of at least 30 kt, and every nickel unit at least 50 kt. Lithium plants will convert ores and concentrates, with brines left out, into battery-grade material. Nickel plants will make Class-1 nickel or battery-grade nickel sulphate and recover cobalt as a by-product.

How the money is split

Choosing the four winners

Selection happens in two stages. The first screens every applicant on technical grounds; those who clear it file financial bids in the second, and the lowest subsidy asked for wins. Two firms are picked for each mineral. Money moves in three tranches tied to milestones, rising to a quarter of the bid, then half, and the whole of it once the plant is commissioned. A winner must commission within three years of the Letter of Award, and in no case beyond five years, with a tapering cut if it slips past the third year.

Why it matters

India has identified 24 critical minerals, among them lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and the rare earths, yet buys most of its refined intermediates abroad. The scheme is expected to anchor about Rs 10,000 crore of investment and build 60 kt of lithium and 100 kt of nickel processing capacity against demand projected by 2030. A Governing Council chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Mines, makes the final choice; a Techno-Financial Committee evaluates bids and a Project Management Agency handles execution. The window sits beside the National Critical Mineral Mission of January 2025 and a Rs 1,500 crore recycling scheme.