{"id":31896,"date":"2025-10-27T10:54:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T05:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=31896"},"modified":"2026-01-31T15:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T09:54:32","slug":"critical-minerals-upsc-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/critical-minerals-upsc-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Minerals"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Critical Minerals Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s first auction of deep-sea blocks of critical minerals, which are vital for electric vehicles, defence equipment and renewable energy, has been delayed indefinitely following a poor response from bidders.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Critical Minerals<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical minerals are those that are <\/span><b>essential for modern technologies and national security<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but<\/span><b> have supply chain risks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> due to their <\/span><b>limited availability or geographical concentration.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their <\/span><b>\u2018criticality\u2019 changes over time depending on technological demand and supply <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dynamics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Applications:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are used to <\/span><b>manufacture advanced technologies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including <\/span><b>mobile phones, computers, fibre-optic cables, semiconductors,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> banknotes, and <\/span><b>defence, aerospace, and medica<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">l applications.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many are <\/span><b>used in<\/b> <b>low-emission technologies,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as <\/span><b>electric vehicle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s, wind turbines,<\/span><b> solar panels<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>rechargeable batteries.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some are also crucial for <\/span><b>common products, such as stainless steel<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and electronics.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Top Producers: Chile, Indonesia, Congo, China,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Australia, and South Africa.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Countries identify minerals critical<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for them <\/span><b>based on their national priorities.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>In 2023, the Ministry of Mines <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">released a <\/span><b>list of 30 critical minerals for India.\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These minerals are <\/span><b>Antimony, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beryllium, Bismuth, <\/span><b>Cobalt, Copper, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, <\/span><b>Phosphorous, Potash,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> REE, Rhenium, <\/span><b>Silicon, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strontium, Tantalum, <\/span><b>Tellurium, Tin, Titanium,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium, and <\/span><b>Cadmium.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>24 minerals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> added to<\/span><b> Part D of Schedule I of the <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957<\/span><b> (MMDR Act),<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> granting <\/span><b>Central Government exclusive auctioning powers.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A<\/span><b> Centre of Excellence for Critical Minerals (CECM)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will <\/span><b>regularly review the mineral list<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and advise policy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM)<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Government of India <\/span><b>launched the NCMM in 2025<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to establish a robust framework for <\/span><b>self-reliance in the critical mineral sector.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NCMM <\/span><b>encompasses all stages<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the value chain, including <\/span><b>mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Exploration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under this mission, the <\/span><b>Geological Survey of India (GSI<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) has been <\/span><b>tasked with conducting 1,200 exploration projects from 2024-25 to 2030-31,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with an aim of ensuring domestic production of at least 15 critical minerals (such as graphite, lithium, potash, REEs).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NCMM also <\/span><b>aims for Indian companies to acquire 50 mining assets worldwide.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To achieve these targets, it seeks to create a <\/span><b>fast-track regulatory approval process<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for mining projects.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Recycling:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The NCMM seeks to set up an <\/span><b>incentive scheme for mineral recycling<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a budget of INR 1500 crore (USD 170 million), with a target of recovering 400 kilotonnes (kt) of recycled material.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Stockpiling:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The NCMM foresees the creation of a <\/span><b>National Critical Minerals Stockpile <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comprising <\/span><b>at least 5 critical minerals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to mitigate the risks from global supply chain disruptions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Research:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NCMM seeks to <\/span><b>promote research in critical mineral technologies <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with a target of achieving self-sufficiency in processing at least 5 critical minerals and <\/span><b>generating 1000 patents across the critical mineral value chains by 2031.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also proposes <\/span><b>setting up 4 regional mineral processing parks <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and 3 Centres of Excellence on Critical Minerals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Governance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The NCMM envisages the formation of an<\/span><b> Empowered Committee on Critical Minerals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that would coordinate and implement the initiatives under the NCMM.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneycontrol.com\/news\/business\/indias-first-deep-sea-critical-minerals-auction-falters-on-tepid-response-13588086.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Critical minerals are those that are essential for modern technologies and national security but have supply chain risks due to their limited availability or geographical concentration. Read more about Critical Minerals, Meaning, Application, Exploration, Latest News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":31897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1322],"class_list":{"0":"post-31896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-critical-minerals","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}