critical minerals

Critical minerals are a policy category, not a geological one: a mineral is "critical" when it is economically or strategically indispensable and its supply chain is exposed to disruption, typically because mining or refining is concentrated in a few jurisdictions. India formalised the concept with the Ministry of Mines report of June 2023, which identified 30 critical minerals — including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, the rare earth elements (REEs), titanium, vanadium, beryllium and tungsten — drawing on the framework first developed by the United States (US Energy Act of 2020 list maintained by the USGS), the European Union, and Australia. The category gained urgency from the energy transition: lithium-ion batteries, electric-vehicle traction motors (which use neodymium–iron–boron permanent magnets), wind turbines, solar photovoltaics, and semiconductors all depend on these inputs. The defining anxiety is processing concentration — China controls roughly 60% of rare-earth mining and close to 90% of refining capacity, and dominates graphite and lithium processing.

The mechanism of "criticality" combines two axes: economic importance and supply risk, the latter measured by import dependence, geographic concentration (often via the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index), substitutability and recyclability. India's institutional response runs through several instruments. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 moved six previously atomic-listed minerals (including lithium and beryllium) out of the exclusively-state list to enable private auction, and created a category of critical and strategic minerals whose blocks the Union auctions directly. The National Critical Mineral Mission, announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 and approved by the Cabinet in January 2025 with an outlay of about ₹16,300 crore, targets domestic exploration, recycling, stockpiling and overseas acquisition. Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), a joint venture of NALCO, HCL and MECL, pursues foreign assets — notably a 2024 lithium-exploration agreement with Argentina's CAMYEN in Catamarca province.

Named instances illustrate the geopolitics. The Geological Survey of India announced inferred lithium resources of 5.9 million tonnes in Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir in February 2023, though auctions there initially found no takers. India joined the US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) in June 2023. China's tightening of export controls on gallium and germanium (2023) and on rare-earth processing technologies (2024–25) sharpened global supply fears, while the Democratic Republic of Congo's dominance in cobalt and Indonesia's in nickel underscore the concentration problem. The European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act (2024) set 2030 benchmarks of 10% domestic extraction and 40% domestic processing.

For the UPSC examination this topic spans GS Paper III (economy, energy security, science and technology) and GS Paper I / Geography (distribution of mineral resources). Prelims questions test factual recall — which minerals appear on India's list, the role of KABIL, the MMDR Amendment 2023, and the Minerals Security Partnership. Mains answers should connect criticality to the net-zero-by-2070 commitment, the EV and renewable-energy push, China's processing monopoly, and strategies of friend-shoring, recycling and the circular economy. Examiners reward candidates who distinguish reserves from processing capacity and who cite the 2023 list and the 2025 Mission by name.