Critical minerals are essential inputs in the production process of an economy, whose supplies are likely to be disrupted due to the risks of non-availability or unaffordable price spikes. A recent working paper from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) extends the earlier minerals assessment for 23 minerals by assessing the criticality levels of 43 select minerals for India based on their economic importance (demand-side factors) and supply risks (supply-side factors) determined through the evaluation of specific indicators.
What are Critical Minerals?
Critical minerals refer to mineral resources, both primary and processed, which are essential inputs in the production process of an economy. Examples of critical minerals include antimony, cobalt, gallium, graphite, lithium, nickel, niobium, and strontium.
Significance for India:
Many of these minerals are required to meet the manufacturing needs of green technologies, high-tech equipment, aviation, and national defence. India needs to develop a national strategy to ensure resilient critical minerals supply chains, which focuses on minerals found to be critical. The categorization of these minerals can help India understand their importance in different sectors.
Applications of Critical Minerals:
The use of critical minerals is widespread in various sectors. Here are some examples:
- Electric vehicles: cobalt, lanthanum, lithium
- Fuel cells: platinum, palladium, rhodium
- Wind energy technologies: neodymium, dysprosium, terbium
- Aviation sector: titanium
- Photovoltaic solar technologies: cadmium, indium, gallium
Challenges for India:
The critical mineral supply chains may get affected due to the strategic partnership between China and Russia. As a result, developed countries have jointly drawn up partnership strategies, including the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) and G7’s Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance, while developing countries have missed out. India does not have many of these mineral reserves, or its requirements may be higher than the availability, necessitating reliance on foreign partners to meet domestic needs.
Way Forward:
On the domestic front, while India has a geological potential similar to mining-rich Western Australia, much still needs to be explored. Given the increasing importance of critical and strategic minerals, there is an imperative need to create a new list of such minerals in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957. Act. India requires a critical minerals strategy comprising measures aimed at making the country self-reliant in critical minerals needed for sustainable economic growth and green technologies for climate action, national defence, and affirmative action for protecting the interests of the affected communities and regions.
International collaborations:
India must actively engage in bilateral and plurilateral arrangements for building assured and resilient critical mineral supply chains. Updating data: The assessment of critical minerals for India needs to be updated every three years to keep pace with changing domestic and global scenarios.
National critical minerals strategy:
A national critical minerals strategy for India can help focus on priority concerns in supply risks, domestic policy regimes, and sustainability.
Why In News
The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) has published a working paper that expands on a previous minerals assessment for 23 minerals by evaluating the criticality levels of 43 selected minerals in India. The assessment is based on specific indicators that evaluate economic importance (demand-side factors) and supply risks (supply-side factors).
MCQs about Assessing Critical Minerals for India
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What are critical minerals?
a) Mineral resources that are not important for the production process of an economy.
b) Mineral resources that are essential inputs in the production process of an economy and whose supplies are likely to be disrupted due to the risks of non-availability or unaffordable price spikes.
c) Mineral resources that are only important for the production of traditional equipment.
d) Mineral resources that are only important for the production of low-tech equipment.
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Which of the following minerals are assessed to be critical for India?
a) Iron, copper, and gold
b) Antimony, cobalt, gallium, graphite, lithium, nickel, niobium, and strontium
c) Aluminum, lead, and zinc
d) Platinum, palladium, and rhodium
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