Meity for inclusion of rare-earth magnet recycling in PLI scheme

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has suggested to the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) that the proposed production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for boosting rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) manufacturing in India should also encourage the recycling of spent magnets, as the country is already among the world’s top three generators of electronic waste (e-waste), multiple sources aware ofthe development told Business Standard.

- DEEPAK PATEL & AASHISH ARYAN

Senior government officials said although most domestic mobile manufacturing companies used recycled REPM for their units, there was some impact on companies producing hearables and wearables in India.

“The hearable and wearable companies had also managed to secure alternative supply lines from various companies, both in China and other countries. So, the overall impact was minimal,” a senior government official said.

According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2022 report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) —aUnited Nations (UN) agency—and itspartner organisations, India generated about 4.17 million tonnes (mt) of e-waste in 2022.