India’s first-ever report on Critical Minerals for India unveils

Introduction

India has taken a significant step towards enhancing its strategic resource security by officially releasing its first-ever critical minerals list. The list comprises 30 key minerals that are crucial for India’s economic growth, technological development and pursuit of a net-zero future. This move aims to reduce import dependence, enhance supply-chain resilience, and support the country’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).

The Importance of Critical Minerals

• Diverse Range of Industries: The critical minerals identified on the list are essential for various industries, including defense, electronics, renewable energy, telecommunications, and transportation.
• Economic Significance: These minerals have been designated as critical based on their economic importance and limited availability in India’s geological reserves.
• Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Platinum-Group Elements (PGE): The list includes 17 REEs and six PGEs, which play a vital role in advanced technologies.

Key Minerals Identified

• The 30 minerals featured on the list include antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, lithium, molybdenum, niobium, nickel, PGE, phosphorous, potash, REEs, rhenium, silicon, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, zirconium, selenium, and cadmium.
• Ten minerals on the list are identified as 100% import-dependent. Here is the list of these ten minerals:

S.no	Minerals
1	Lithium
2	Cobalt
3	Nickel
4	Vanadium
5	Niobium
6	Germanium
7	Rhenium
8	Beryllium
9	Tantalum
10	Strontium

 

Addressing Environmental and Net-Zero Commitments

• Urgent Mineral Requirements: India’s international commitments to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net-zero targets necessitate a review of the country’s mineral requirements for energy transition.
• Periodic Review: The Ministry of Mines plans to revisit the critical mineral list periodically to align with evolving environmental goals.

Important takeaways for competitive examinations

• Ministry of Mines functions as the primary body for the formulation and administration of laws relating to mines in India.
• Pralhad Joshi is the Union Minister of Mines.
• List of Top 5 metals found in India(State wise)

Metals	States
BAUXITE	Orissa & Gujarat
COPPER	Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan & Jharkhand
GOLD	Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh
SILVER	Rajasthan & Karnataka
LEAD	Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh

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