At a Glance
Four numbers behind India’s scrap gap.
300 Mt
Steel capacity targeted by 2030 under the National Steel Policy, 2017.
70 to 80 Mt
Scrap needed each year to reach that target.
25 Mt + 7 Mt
Domestic scrap supply today, plus yearly imports. Still well short.
62 RVSFs
Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities so far. A third began as informal yards.
In this lesson
The Two Metal Policies
The metals involved, and the two policies
- Metal recycling runs mainly through steel, aluminium, and copper scrap. Steel dominates by volume, since India uses it most by weight.
- The Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, 2019 (Ministry of Steel) promotes Metal Scrapping Centres. It formalises collection, dismantling, and processing of scrap. That work used to happen almost entirely off the books.
- The Vehicle Scrappage Policy, 2021 retires old, unfit vehicles through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
- Scrapped vehicles feed high-grade ferrous scrap back into steel production. Old cars become raw material for new steel.
- India still imports a meaningful share of its steel scrap. Cutting that import dependency is a stated national goal.
True or False: The Vehicle Scrappage Policy, 2021 feeds scrapped vehicles back into steel production as high-grade ferrous scrap.
The Scrap Gap in Numbers
The scrap gap in numbers
- The National Steel Policy, 2017 targets 300 million tonnes of steel capacity by 2030. That needs 70 to 80 million tonnes of scrap a year.
- Domestic scrap supply runs around 25 million tonnes a year. Roughly 7 million tonnes more is imported. Even the combined total falls short of the 2030 need.
- RVSFs are a young system. Only 62 are registered so far. Roughly a third began as informal scrapyards that formalised. That shows the policy pulling informal work into the open.
- When a vehicle is formally scrapped, its RVSF issues a Certificate of Deposit and a Certificate of Scrapping. Both are logged on the VAHAN database. The process leaves a real paper trail.
True or False: India’s domestic scrap supply plus imports already meets the 70-80 million tonnes a year needed to hit the 2030 steel capacity target.
Previous Year Questions
Steel slag is a leftover from steelmaking. It is not scrap metal. Yet it is reused in a similar way.
- UPSC CSP 2020Asked whether steel slag works for road base construction, agricultural soil improvement, and cement production. All three are correct. View this question on the full 2020 paper.
True or False: Steel slag is the same thing as scrap metal.
Two Policies, Not One
Don’t mix them up, and EPR keeps expanding
- The Steel Scrap Recycling Policy is the general framework for sourcing and processing scrap.
- The Vehicle Scrappage Policy is one feeder stream into it. It covers old vehicles, not scrap metal generally.
- From April 2026, EPR extends to non-ferrous metals too: aluminium, copper, zinc, and their alloys. See Recycling in India for that detail.
- For wider waste regulation, see Solid and Hazardous Waste.
Think it through: why is it a mistake to treat the two policies as the same thing?
The Steel Scrap Recycling Policy covers how scrap of all kinds is sourced, collected, and processed. The Vehicle Scrappage Policy is one feeder stream into that system. It deals only with old, unfit vehicles. It does not cover scrap from construction, appliances, or industry.
True or False: Roughly a third of registered RVSFs began as informal scrapyards that formalised into the system.
True or False: A formally scrapped vehicle’s Certificate of Deposit and Certificate of Scrapping are both logged on the VAHAN database.
True or False: From April 2026, EPR in India will extend to non-ferrous metals including aluminium, copper, and zinc.
Quick Q&A
Which policy promotes Metal Scrapping Centres?
The Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, 2019.
What do RVSFs do?
They scrap old, unfit vehicles under the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, 2021.
What steel capacity does India target by 2030?
300 million tonnes.
How much scrap does that need each year?
70 to 80 million tonnes.
Where are scrapping certificates logged?
On the VAHAN database.
🎲 Practice: Metal Recycling in India
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