India's EV Battery Mandate: 5% Recycled Material Required From FY 2027-28

From April 2027, recycled material will no longer be optional for new EV batteries in India. Under India's Battery Waste Management framework, EV and portable batteries will need to contain at least 5% domestically recycled material in FY 2027-28. That requirement rises progressively, from 5% to 10%, 15%, and 20% from FY 2030-31 onwards.

The numbers reveal an interesting challenge. NITI Aayog estimates that around 60 kt of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries may be available by 2030, while India already has approximately 115 kt of announced recycling capacity.

So the challenge ahead isn't simply about adding recycling capacity. It is about building the ecosystem that feeds and connects that capacity: efficient collection, reliable feedstock, and material recovery and refining that can turn end-of-life batteries into materials suitable for re-entering the battery value chain.

With a large share of today's EV batteries still years away from end of life, that ecosystem needs to develop before volumes arrive at scale. The mandate starts at 5%. Building a reliable domestic loop for battery materials is the bigger task.