India is taking bold steps to secure its supply of minerals deemed 'critical' for high-tech industries and sustainable energy solutions. Recently, the government approved the launch of the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM), which will bolster India’s positioning within the global mineral economy. With ₹16,300 crore earmarked for the initiative and expected investments of ₹18,000 crore from public sector undertakings (PSUs), the mission is set to become the backbone of India's effort to become self-sufficient and less reliant on any single nation for these resources.
The NCMM aims to encompass all stages of the mineral value chain, including exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products. This comprehensive approach is pivotal as the world increasingly recognizes the role of such minerals—like lithium, cobalt, and nickel—regarded as the bedrock for technologies ranging from electric vehicles (EVs) to renewable energy setups.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman originally announced this initiative during the Union Budget for 2024-25 on July 23, 2024, emphasizing the need for India's self-reliance amid rising global demand highlighted by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Critical minerals play a key role in enhancing energy security, and the announcement shines light on the strategies India plans to adopt to safeguard its interests against global supply chain vulnerabilities.
“There is a need to establish an effective framework for India’s self-reliance in the mineral sector,” stated the government’s announcement. With the global demand for certain minerals forecasted to explode—such as lithium, which the IEA estimates will see 40-fold growth by 2040—India is preparing to play catch-up with countries like China, which currently holds substantial reserves of rare earth minerals.
The mission will also facilitate financial incentives for mineral exploration, promote recovery of these resources from tailings, and support efforts to build partnerships with resource-rich nations. By creating systems for streamlined regulatory approvals and mineral processing parks, the initiative aims to make mining operations more feasible and lucrative.
Interestingly, India’s push for local resource utilization is complemented by international diplomacy. Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, is set to meet with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, to explore mutual interests and investment opportunities within the minerals sector. The discussions will encompass mineral supply chains and potential technological collaborations aimed at reinforcing India’s standing as a partner for sustainable mineral development.
This meeting follows Reddy’s participation at the Future Minerals Forum 2025 held recently in Riyadh, where he advocated for India’s commitment to securing the necessary minerals for energy transitions. His invitation to global investors to analyze India’s mining sector was part of discussions with ministers from Brazil, Italy, and Morocco, seeking to bolster international cooperation.
China’s dominance over the market for rare earth minerals is reflected by its controlling stake, holding approximately 70% of the global supply. With this backdrop, India is actively working to secure its own resource channels, even as it progresses with the revised Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, 1957, which now facilitates greater exploration and mining of strategic minerals.
Over the past three years, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has embarked on 368 exploration projects for these minerals, currently steering 195 projects as part of its efforts for fiscal year 2024-25.
The establishment of Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) has also marked progress, with the company obtaining approximately 15,703 hectares of land in Argentina’s Catamarca province for lithium mining. Such strategic acquisitions amplify India’s ambitions to create processing facilities domestically, thereby offering the potential to significantly increase the availability of these materials.
The mission's significance correlates not just to growing green technologies but also to political and economic stability; the geopolitical rivalry reflects what is at stake should resource access become contentious. By developing mineral processing parks, establishing reserves, and promoting research, the NCMM sets out to assemble the pieces needed for both mineral security and enhanced national coherence among industries reliant on these resources.