New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to boost India’s recycling capacity for critical minerals from secondary sources such as e-waste, lithium-ion battery scrap, and end-of-life vehicle parts. 

By fostering both new and existing recyclers, the initiative aims to build 270 kilo tonnes annual recycling capacity, produce 40 kilo tonnes of critical minerals, attract around Rs 8,000 crore in investments, and generate nearly 70,000 jobs — a strategic step to strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce import dependency, according to the government.

Critical minerals are fast becoming the oil of the 21st century, scarce, strategic, and fiercely contested. They are the building blocks of a modern economy.

India has set major climate milestones like cutting the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 (from 2005 levels), sourcing half of its power capacity from non-fossil fuels by the same year, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.

Central to meeting these targets is the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to secure long-term supplies of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths. Beyond ensuring clean energy and electric mobility, the mission is designed to attract investments, foster innovation, and place India at the centre of global supply chains for the industries of tomorrow, according to the government.

As the world pivots to clean energy and advanced technologies, control over critical minerals has become the new frontier of geopolitics.

In January 2025, India responded with the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), launched for a period of seven years from 2024-25 to 2030-31, with a proposed expenditure of Rs 16,300 crore and an expected investment of Rs 18,000 crore by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and other stakeholders.

It is not merely a mining programme, but a strategic blueprint to secure energy security, drive industrial growth, and cement technological independence. From the lithium that powers electric vehicles to the rare earths vital for defence systems, the National Critical Minerals Mission casts its net wide.

A central target of the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM) is to catalyse innovation by supporting and monitoring the filing of 1,000 patents across the critical minerals value chain by FY 2030–31.

The aim is clear: accelerate the development and commercialisation of homegrown technologies vital for India’s energy transition and strategic industries. That momentum is already visible. In a parallel move, the guidelines for setting up a dedicated Centre of Excellence (CoE) under the Mission were cleared on April 6, 2025, marking a key step in advancing India’s critical minerals strategy.

Almost 500 people have been arrested at a Hyundai factory in the US state of Georgia by immigration authorities in the largest workplace raid of President Donald Trump’s second term.

A majority of those detained at the 3,000-acre site, which was built by the Korean company to manufacture electric vehicles and has been operational for a year, are Korean nationals.

South Korea expressed “concern and regret” over the operation and urged the US government to respect the rights of its citizens.

The Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that agents executed a search warrant due to allegations of “unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes”.

“This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” Steve Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta, said at a news conference on Friday.

“This has been a multi-month criminal investigation where we have developed evidence, conducted interviews gathered documents and presented that evidence… in order to obtain a judicial search warrant,” Schrank added.

He said it was “the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of homeland security investigations”.

The raid raises a possible tension between two of President Donald Trump’s top priorities – building up manufacturing within the US and cracking down on illegal immigration. It could also put stress on the country’s relationship with a key ally.

President Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday: “They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job.”

Asked by a reporter about the reaction from Seoul, he said: “Well, we want to get along with other countries, and we want to have a great, stable workforce.

“And we have, as I understand it, a lot of illegal aliens, some not the best of people, but we had a lot of illegal aliens working there.”

“These [workers] are people that came through with Biden. They came through illegally.”

Some 475 people who were in the country illegally or working unlawfully were detained in the operation, immigration officials said.

They were being held at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Folkston, Georgia, until the agency decides where to move them next.

Of those detained, 300 are reported to be Korean nationals.

In a statement, Hyundai Motor Company said it was “closely monitoring the situation and working to understand the specific circumstances”.

“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained are directly employed by Hyundai,” it said.

Hyundai’s production of electric vehicles at the sprawling site was not affected, Reuters reported. Its partner in the battery joint venture, South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions, had paused construction work at the site.

Videos on social media show agents lining workers up and telling them they have a warrant to search the facility. The agents can also be seen talking to some of the employees in the videos.

South Korea said it was dispatching diplomats to the site in response to the raid and that it had contacted the US embassy in Seoul to urge the US “to exercise extreme caution” when it came to Korean citizens’ rights.

“The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement operations,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Trump has worked to bring in major investments from other countries while also levying tariffs he says will give manufacturers incentives to make goods in the US.

South Korean companies have promised to invest billions of dollars in key US industries in the coming years, partly as a way to avoid tariffs.

Georgia’s Governor, Republican Brian Kemp, had touted Hyundai’s new electric vehicle operation as the biggest economic development project in the state’s history, employing 1,200 people.

But the president also campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration, telling supporters he believed migrants were stealing jobs from Americans.

Upon returning to office, he launched a massive effort across the country to round up people thought to be in the US illegally, hold them in detention facilities, and frequently deport them.

While many of those caught in the sweeps have ties to Latin American countries, people of other nationalities have also been arrested.

Google has been fined €2.95bn (£2.5bn) by the EU for allegedly abusing its power in the ad tech sector – the technology which determines which adverts should be placed online and where.

The European Commission said on Friday the tech giant had breached competition laws by favouring its own products for displaying online ads, to the detriment of rivals.

It comes amid increased scrutiny by regulators worldwide over the tech giant’s empire in online search and advertising.

Google told the BBC the Commission’s decision was “wrong” and it would appeal.

“It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, global head of regulatory affairs at Google.

“There’s nothing anti-competitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before.”

US President Donald Trump also attacked the decision, saying in a post on social media it was “very unfair” and threatening to launch an investigation over European tech practices that could lead to tariffs.

“As I have said before, my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand,” he wrote.

“The European Union must stop this practice against American Companies, IMMEDIATELY!”

Trump has repeatedly criticised the bloc’s fines and enforcement actions against US tech firms in recent months, though the US government has brought its own lawsuits over Google’s monopoly of the online ad market.

Earlier this week, the Commission denied reports it had delayed the announcement of Google’s fine amid tensions over trade relations between the EU and the US.

In the Commission’s decision on Friday, the Commission accused Google of “self-preferencing” its own technology above others.

As part of its findings, it said Google had intentionally boosted its own advertising exchange, AdX, over competing exchanges where ads are bought and sold in real-time.

Competitors and publishers faced higher costs and reduced revenues as a result, it said, claiming these may have been passed to consumers in the form of more expensive services.

The regulator has ordered the company to bring such practices to an end, as well as pay the nearly €3bn penalty.

The Commission’s fine is one of the largest fines it has handed down to tech companies accused of breaching its competition rules to date.

In 2018 it fined Google €4.34bn (£3.9bn) – accusing the company of using its Android operating system to cement itself as the dominant player in that market.

Teresa Ribera, executive vice president of the Commission, said in a statement on Friday the regulator had factored in previous findings of Google’s anti-competitive conduct when deciding to levy a higher fine.

“In line with our usual practice, we increased Google’s fine since this is the third time Google breaks the rules of the game,” she said.

Ms Ribera also warned the tech giant it had 60 days to detail how it would change its practices, or else the Commission would look to impose its own solution.

“At this stage, it appears the only way for Google to end its conflict of interest effectively is with a structural remedy, such as selling some part of its ad tech business,” she said.