NITI Aayog Launches Three Circular Economy Reports
Why focus: GS3 Environment. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a UPSC darling. Sets up Match-the-Following on e-waste rules.
In News
What Happened
Why It Matters
Background
History & Context
What Changed
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Vehicle Scrapping Infrastructure: BEFORE - Heavy reliance on informal scrappers with a severe lack of testing capacity. NOW - A proposed target of 'One ATS per district' and the establishment of PSU-led Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs), directly integrated with VAHAN and Parivahan portals.
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Tyre Downcycling Regulations: BEFORE - Widespread, unregulated downcycling of waste tyres into poor-quality, highly polluting Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO). NOW - Mandated restriction of TPO usage exclusively to refineries or approved industrial applications, forcing the conversion of carbon char into high-value recovered Carbon Black (rCB).
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Battery Chemical Traceability: BEFORE - Insufficient safety and quality tracking for second-life or recycled lithium-ion batteries. NOW - A strategic recommendation to update BIS Standard IS 16046 to explicitly mandate chemical composition testing for recycled batteries.
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Critical Mineral Sourcing: BEFORE - Overwhelming dependence on foreign imports for Lithium, Cobalt, and Nickel with disjointed domestic recovery. NOW - 'Urban Mining' is formalized as a strategic alternative to mineral imports, backed by recommendations for additional incentives under the PLI Scheme for manufacturers utilizing recycled materials.
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Informal Sector Integration: BEFORE - Informal waste pickers and dismantlers operated largely outside the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legal framework, facing punitive liabilities. NOW - Formal integration via the Udyam Assist platform, offering one-time liability waivers, rationalized GST/HSN codes, and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certification.
What Did NOT Change
Despite the massive push to formalize the recycling ecosystem, the fundamental liability structure of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) remains unaltered; Producers, Importers, and Brand Owners (PIBOs) are still legally and financially accountable for the end-of-life management of their products. Furthermore, Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste was conspicuously left out of these specific thematic reports, leaving a major segment of urban waste outside this newly proposed circular policy framework.
Prelims Angle
NCERT Connection
Common Misconceptions
✗ Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) places the financial and physical burden of waste management entirely on the end consumer.
✓ EPR legally mandates that the manufacturer, importer, or brand owner (PIBO) is financially and physically responsible for the environmentally sound management of their products at the end of their life.
Consumers often see 'recycling fees' or disposal costs passed down to them at the point of sale, leading them to falsely believe the legal burden rests on the buyer rather than the producer.
✗ Vehicle scrapping under the formal policy completely destroys the vehicle, simply creating massive heaps of useless scrap metal.
✓ Formal scrapping is a highly systematic resource-recovery process; NITI Aayog projects that scrapping older models (2005-2023) can recover roughly 98 million tonnes of reusable steel, reducing the need for virgin iron ore mining.
The colloquial term 'scrapping' implies sheer destruction and waste generation, obscuring the high-yield 'circular' extraction of steel, aluminum, and copper mandated in Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
✗ Any form of tyre recycling is environmentally friendly and beneficial for the circular economy.
✓ Informal 'downcycling' of tyres into Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) causes severe carcinogenic air pollution; true circularity requires converting tyres into high-value recovered Carbon Black (rCB).
People mistakenly assume that because a waste product is being processed (pyrolysis), it is eco-friendly, ignoring the devastating emissions caused by unregulated thermal degradation.
Practice Questions
Q1
How Many CorrectConsider the following statements regarding the circular economy framework and recent NITI Aayog reports released in January 2026: 1. The reports mandate the integration of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste into the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) portal. 2. Under the proposed Tyre Waste guidelines, the usage of Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) is heavily restricted to prevent polluting downcycling. 3. The National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) incentivizes 'urban mining' to recover critical minerals like lithium and nickel from spent batteries. How many of the above statements are correct?
Q2
Match the FollowingMatch the policy mechanisms/terms (List I) with their corresponding sectors or purposes (List II) in the context of India's circular economy: List I: A. RVSFs B. Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) C. Urban Mining D. BIS Standard IS 16046 List II: 1. Chemical composition testing for batteries 2. Extraction of critical minerals from E-waste 3. High-value upcycling of Waste Tyres 4. Systematic dismantling of End-of-Life Vehicles
Q3
Assertion & ReasonAssertion (A): The 2026 NITI Aayog reports on the circular economy heavily emphasize 'Urban Mining' as a strategic policy alternative to traditional mineral extraction. Reason (R): India possesses vast, easily accessible domestic geological reserves of Lithium and Cobalt but currently lacks the advanced extraction technology required to mine them economically.