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India is seeking to move the circular economy beyond waste management and recycling, positioning it as a broader strategy for resource efficiency, industrial resilience and sustainable growth, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday.
Inaugurating the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2026 here along with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Yadav said the transition would require changes across the entire value chain—from how products are designed and consumed to how materials are recovered and brought back into production.
“The true measure of a circular economy will not be how much waste we recycle, but how little value we allow to be wasted,” Yadav remarked.
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More than 3,600 stakeholders from 62 countries, including businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers, are taking part in the four-day forum being held for the first time in South Asia. Some 135 national and international exhibitors are showcasing circular economy solutions.
Yadav said more than 83,000 producers and 4,802 recyclers had been registered under various EPR frameworks as of August 2026, with nearly 482.24 lakh tonnes of waste processed across regulated waste streams.
The shift, however, will have to go beyond recycling, with product design emerging as a key part of the transition, he stressed.
Regulatory Compliance
Yadav said regulation alone could not create a circular economy and that the transition also required changes in consumption patterns. He described India’s traditional approach as “repair before replace, reuse before discard, and recover before waste.”
Patel called for WCEF to embody the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam by developing practical circular solutions for the world. He cited Gujarat’s experience of converting waste into reusable resources and livelihoods as an example of traditional circular practices.
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Senthilkumaran Varatharajan, senior general manager at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, said product stewardship needed to begin at the design and development stage, with longevity, durability and recyclability built into vehicles from the outset.
“Longevity is sustainability,” Varatharajan said at a session on the application of next-generation technology for a circular economy.
Integrating Data-Driven Design
Data from end-of-life vehicles can provide manufacturers with information on component durability, corrosion and functional loss, as well as the potential for reuse and remanufacturing. Manufacturers can use such real-world data to inform vehicle design, enabling them to choose materials and components that enhance vehicle longevity.
Varatharajan said the availability of recycled material in adequate quantity and quality was another major challenge for manufacturers. While automakers are increasingly using circular materials, the industries supplying those materials have their own recycling targets, potentially limiting the availability of feedstock.
Mahindra & Mahindra, for instance, uses recycled fabric made from PET bottles in one of its electric vehicles. The wider question, he said, is whether sufficient recycled material will be available as demand increases across industries.
Vehicle dismantling networks could help address this gap by providing real-time data on the quantity and quality of recovered materials, he said. Such information could help designers determine where and in what proportion recycled material can be used while developing appropriate quality and validation standards.
Artificial intelligence and sensor-based systems could further help identify hazardous substances in older vehicles, allowing designers to factor such information into material standards for new models. AI-based dismantling data could also support greater standardisation of materials and components across automakers.
The forum is being jointly organised by the Central Pollution Control Board, Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, governments of India, Finland and Gujarat, and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board.
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