Critical minerals have become a tool of statecraft, not just inputs of industry. With reference to the gaps in India’s framework for securing rare earths and battery metals, discuss.
Subtopic: Governance · Critical Minerals & Resource Security
How to structure your answer
Introduction: The Ministry of Mines notified a list of 30 critical minerals in 2023; China controls about 60% of rare earth mining and over 85% of refining.
Body: Three dimensions — (i) legal — MMDR (Amendment) Act 2023 brought lithium, cobalt and rare earths into Schedule VII for central auction; (ii) institutional — KABIL JV (NALCO-HCL-MECL) for overseas assets, lithium block exploration in Argentina (2024) and Australia, National Critical Mineral Mission announced January 2025 with Rs 16,300 crore outlay over seven years; (iii) external dependency — China's 2025 export controls on seven rare earth elements squeezed Indian EV and defence supply chains.
Way forward / Conclusion: A strategic-reserve law, a Minerals Security Partnership seat, recycling targets, and accelerated permitting in the J&K and Karnataka lithium belts.
Written within the word limit
144 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: The Ministry of Mines notified 30 critical minerals in 2023; China controls about 60% of rare earth mining and over 85% of refining, making minerals a tool of statecraft.
Body: Three dimensions show India's framework and its gaps. First, legal — the MMDR (Amendment) Act 2023 inserted lithium, cobalt and rare earths into Schedule VII for central auction. Second, institutional — the KABIL joint venture of NALCO, HCL and MECL secures overseas assets including the Argentina lithium block (2024); the National Critical Mineral Mission (January 2025) has a Rs 16,300 crore outlay over seven years; India joined the Minerals Security Partnership in June 2023. Third, external dependency — China's 2025 export controls on seven rare earth elements squeezed Indian EV and defence supply chains, while the Reasi (J&K) inferred 5.9 million tonne lithium reserve awaits commercial proving.
Conclusion: A strategic-reserve law, recycling targets and accelerated permitting in J&K and Karnataka lithium belts will harden statecraft.
What an examiner expects to see
- Ministry of Mines list of 30 critical minerals (2023)
- MMDR (Amendment) Act 2023 — Schedule VII and Section 17A(2) central auction
- KABIL JV among NALCO, HCL and MECL
- National Critical Mineral Mission January 2025 — Rs 16,300 crore over seven years
- China controls about 60% of rare earth mining and over 85% of refining
- Reasi (J&K) lithium reserve 5.9 million tonnes inferred (GSI, 2023)
- Minerals Security Partnership (US-led, 2022) — India joined June 2023
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- MMDR (Amendment) Act 2023
- Argentina lithium block agreement 2024
- China rare earth export controls 2025
- KABIL incorporation 2019
- Reasi lithium discovery 2023