Over the last three decades, India has seen rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, emerging as one of the world’s fastest growing electronics markets. The country’s electronic production is currently valued at about $101 billion, with mobile phones alone making up 43 per cent of the total manufactured products. However, along with this expansion comes a significant increase in electronic waste (e-waste). E-waste encompasses all discarded electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), including any parts thrown away without the intention of reuse, and it can create environmental hazards if not managed properly. As a result, ensuring proper e-waste management has become an essential component of India’s technological advancements.
Trends over the years
India has now become the third largest producer of e-waste, after China and the USA. In 2024-25, till December, India generated 1.94 million metric tonnes (mt) of e-waste, which is a significant 91.13 per cent increase as compared to the 2019-20 figures. This indicates the increasing use of electronics in the country, making e-waste and electronics two sides of the same coin.
Additionally, between the peak Covid-19 pandemic years of 2019-20 and 2020-21, e-waste generation in India saw its most significant jump, primarily due to a spike in the demand and production of electronic goods driven by work-from-home and remote learning. This also resulted in an increase in e-waste. Further, drastic technological obsolescence amidst rapid advancements, difficulty in getting certain electronic parts repaired and mass consumerism contributed to the country’s e-waste menace.
While e-waste in the country is mounting at an alarming rate, efforts are on to switch to greener alternatives. There is now a growing focus on eco-friendly production methods. For instance, reliance on solar energy has increased, implementation of liquid cooling systems is being done, and the use of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) in devices such as smartphones and televisions has become prominent. These greener approaches can help reduce the overall e-waste footprint at source by minimising the use of harmful raw materials that cause issues during the process of recycling.
Government initiatives
The central government issued the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, a revised version of the previous rules. In force since April 1, 2023, these rules mandate all manufacturers, producers, refurbishers and recyclers to be registered with the online Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This portal streamlines the EPR regime, allowing stakeholders to transact with EPR credits while ensuring environmentally sound recycling. The CPCB has also issued directions to state pollution control boards (SPCBs) and pollution control committees (PCCs) to identify and transform informal or illegal e-waste handling units into formal entities, helping channelise the informal sector into the formal framework for more compliant and sustainable operations.
Moreover, CPCB has directed SPCBs/PCCs to act against e-waste recyclers who fail to upload requisite documents and invoices on the EPR portal, including by revoking their consent to operate where necessary. Further, regular inspections and verifications are conducted, aided by detailed guidelines for recyclers/refurbishers, capacity determination, and environmental compensation in cases of non-compliance. The CPCB also provides training and public meetings on the EPR portal, fostering greater awareness and efficiency in e-waste management efforts. This coordinated approach strengthens circular economy practices, promotes scientific disposal methods and safeguards the environment.
As of February 2025, the CPCB has 322 registered recyclers and 72 registered refurbishers to handle e-waste. The processing capacity stands at 22,08,918.064 mt per annum for recyclers and 92,042.18 mt per annum for refurbishers.
Recycling: A major challenge
Despite having substantial processing facilities, India is able to recycle only a small fraction of its annual e-waste. During 2023-24, only 0.76 million mt out of the 1.75 million mt of e-waste generated was recycled. This shows that not even 50 per cent of the e-waste being generated in the country in one financial year is being recycled through the formal channels.
The main reason for this shortfall is the dominance of informal waste collection, which relies heavily on outdated methods that may emit toxic pollutants into the nearby environment. Inefficient extraction further reduces the value of recovered materials, making it challenging for informal operators to profit. That said, the majority of e-waste is still processed by the informal sector, although the formal sector is catching up, having increased its share from 0.53 million mt in 2021-22 to 0.76 million mt in 2023-24 (a 43 per cent rise).
Technological advancements
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, has developed various solutions to manage e-waste through its constituent laboratories. The CSIR–National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML), Jamshedpur, has pioneered processes for recovering gold from waste mobile phones, cobalt from discarded lithium-ion batteries and neodymium from magnets in waste hard disks. In addition, it has devised methods to recycle spent or discarded lithium iron phosphate batteries, extracting lithium, iron and phosphorus with high efficiency, as well as processes to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite from mixed-chemistry lithium-ion batteries. CSIR-NML has also established a one-tonne per day pilot facility for dismantling and recycling lithium-ion batteries, enabling the production of multiple derivative metal salts suitable for further use.
For further strengthening e-waste management, the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT), Bhubaneswar, has developed process flowsheets that include mechanical separation followed by hydrometallurgical routes. These flowsheets facilitate the recovery of copper, tin and precious metals from printed circuit boards using flotation, leaching and selective precipitation methods. They also enable the extraction of neodymium and praseodymium, along with other rare earth elements, from waste magnets and scrap. By integrating these specialised processes, CSIR ensures the efficient handling of diverse e-waste streams and the retrieval of valuable metals for potential reuse.
Industry contribution
Since the announcement of these rules, major electronics manufacturers have introduced new initiatives to spread awareness and reduced the amount of e-waste in the economy. For instance, LG has built its own dedicated call centre support for take-back requests of their electronic products. Dell uses plastic extracted from old computers in its products and has 23 drop-off centres in India, running an online take-back scheme, with a goal to reuse or recycle as many products as it sells by 2030. Meanwhile, Xiaomi operates a programme that rewards customers with discount coupons for returning old electronics, backed by 1,150 collection counters across 500 cities for dropping off mobile phones, batteries and other discarded accessories. Similarly, ASUS India has introduced an online portal to offer detailed guidance on proper e-waste disposal. Through the portal, users can conveniently schedule pick-up slots for e-waste collection, following which, ASUS representatives promptly collect the e-waste from the specified location. Meanwhile, e-waste generated at Airtel is traced end to end, handled and recycled as per the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Guidelines.
In sum
With the country’s electronics sector set to reach $500 billion by 2030, the need for proper and efficient handling of e-waste will become even more crucial. Stronger policy initiatives, including stricter EPR regulations, will be essential in stimulating both the development and broadening of formal recycling infrastructure. Emphasis should be placed on investing in advanced recycling technologies and enhanced collection networks, which will lead to higher rates of material recovery and increased profitability for the formal sector. Additionally, corporate-led initiatives and programmes that promote recycling can help educate society at large about responsible disposal practices. With these strategies in place, the industry is positioned to become more competitive and self-sustaining, reducing its environmental footprint, decreasing dependence on imported metals and contributing to ongoing economic development.
Shashwat Singh
