India's metals growth story is shifting from mining to recycling, with scrap emerging as the industry's most strategic resource according to a thematic report by Ashika Institutional Equities. The global metals industry is undergoing a structural shift as rising demand from electrification, renewable energy and infrastructure collides with resource constraints and stricter environmental regulations. As per Ashika's thematic report titled 'Recycling: The New Ore', the next phase of value creation in the metals industry will be driven less by ownership of mines and more by access to scrap, sourcing networks and processing technology. The report emphasizes that access to scrap is emerging as the most valuable asset, with sourcing networks, collection capabilities and regulatory compliance becoming more critical than installed capacity in determining long-term industry leadership.
Jain Resource Recycling emerges as the fastest-growing recycling stock with a 3-year sales CAGR of 35.7% and net profit CAGR of 37%. As reported by The Financial Express, the company is one of India's top organized non-ferrous metal recycling companies, primarily recycling lead, copper, aluminium, tin and certain plastic by-products. In Q4FY26, the company reported revenues of ₹31,050 million with a net profit of ₹663 million. The company has made strategic progress through forward integration via Jain Green Technologies in FY26, with copper anode production commenced and copper cathode, wire rod and bus bar projects on track for phase commissioning. According to Ashika's report, lead offers the strongest earnings visibility due to predictable battery replacement demand and regulatory support, making Jain Resource Recycling well-positioned for this transition.
Eco Recycling demonstrates exceptional growth with a 3-year sales CAGR of 42.2% and net profit CAGR of 22.6%. According to The Financial Express, the company operates an integrated e-waste value chain covering collection, logistics, data destruction, dismantling, metal recovery, and disposal. In Q4FY26, the company reported revenues of ₹186 million, up from ₹98 million YoY, with net profits of ₹71 million, representing a significant increase from ₹22 million YoY. The company is well-positioned to benefit from India's expanding e-waste recycling industry, supported by stricter regulations and rising electronic waste generation. India is currently the 4th largest e-waste generator in the world, with e-waste generation expected to grow from 6.2 MT in 2024 to 14 MT by 2030. Currently, 78% of this waste is handled by the inefficient and unsafe informal sector, leaving only 22% to formal recyclers, creating significant opportunities for structured players like Eco Recycling.
Gravita India reported a 3-year sales CAGR of 20.4% and net profit CAGR of 28.2%. As reported by The Financial Express, the company currently operates with a capacity of 4.57 lakh metric ton per annum and plans to scale up to over 0.8 million metric tons per annum by FY29. In February 2026, the company expanded its lead recycling capacity at Mundra by 80,300 metric ton per annum, taking total capacity to 145,100 metric ton per annum. The company also plans to establish a copper recycling facility in Mandvi, Gujarat, with an initial capacity of 29,400 metric ton per annum in Phase 1 requiring a capex of ₹1,600 million. According to Ashika's report, copper represents the biggest long-term opportunity because of widening domestic supply deficits and demand from electrification, while aluminium is emerging as a key decarbonisation opportunity as recycled aluminium requires significantly less energy than primary production.
The industry's competitive advantage is evolving as companies increasingly move beyond basic metal recovery into value-added products such as alloys, conductors, busbars and specialty products, which could support higher margins and stronger customer relationships. As per Ashika's report, value addition is becoming more important than metals recovery, with the next earnings cycle driven by increasing the value extracted from every tonne of scrap processed rather than simply expanding recycling volumes. Regulatory measures such as the Battery Waste Management Rules (BMWR) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework are accelerating the shift from informal scrap processing to organised recycling, creating a long-term structural growth opportunity for compliant players. The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management sector is expected to double in size over the next five years, with the India waste management market projected to grow from ₹1.2 lakh crore in 2023 to ₹1.7 lakh crore by 2030.
