The mines ministry is seeking ₹2,500–3,000 crore in budget assistance to kick-start the national critical minerals mission.
The fund will be crucial for exploring, developing, and acquiring mineral blocks abroad as part of India’s strategy to secure vital mineral and strategic resources.
Announced during the 2024-25 budget, the mission aims to strengthen India’s position in the global mineral supply chain, covering everything from exploration and mining to processing and recovery from end-of-life products.
Mission Goals and Focus Areas
While the exact details of the national critical minerals mission are still under discussion, the initiative is expected to include several key areas:
- Incentivizing domestic exploration and production of critical minerals
- Acquiring critical mineral assets abroad
- Managing trade and stock of these minerals
- Fostering research and development in critical mineral technologies
- Addressing skill development needs
- Implementing production-linked incentives for the recycling of critical minerals
In addition, the mines ministry is actively exploring ways to support the overseas exploration, development, mining, production, and sale of critical minerals by private companies.
India’s Dependency on Mineral Imports
India continues to rely heavily on imports for critical minerals, as the country has limited reserves or production capabilities for many of them.
For the fiscal year 2024, India’s net import bill for critical minerals stands at approximately ₹30,000 crore, with phosphorous accounting for the highest import value at ₹12,648 crore.
However, rare earth elements (REE) have shown a positive balance of ₹247 crore, suggesting India could become a net exporter of these minerals in the future.
When excluding lithium-ion minerals, India’s critical mineral import bill exceeds ₹42,000 crore, with phosphorous being the most significant import at ₹15,123 crore.
A Dedicated Fund to Support Exploration and Development
To support these efforts, the government is working on a dedicated fund based on the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET).
The details of this fund are still under discussion, with officials engaging with financial institutions, private equity players, and other stakeholders to build the necessary corpus.
As reported by thehindubusinessline.com, simultaneously, the government plans to strengthen KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd), focused on securing critical minerals overseas. KABIL is set to ramp up its activities through increased capital infusion.
