Securing future with a minerals mission

The National Critical Minerals Mission seeks to meet India's national security needs and the 'net zero by 2070' target in a responsible manner, by building a broad global coalition

- G Kishan Reddy

The treasury has its source in the mines; from the treasury, the army comes into being; with the treasury and the army the earth is obtained, with the treasury as its ornament," Chanakya says in the Arthashastra. The Indian State, for many millennia, has recognised the importance of mines for economic development and for securing the welfare of its people. Chanakya's treatise on statecraft is an example of the explicit realisation of the strategic value of minerals; it goes on to provide detailed guidelines for mining operations. From the mining of zinc in Zawar, Rajasthan, more than 2,500 years ago to the discovery of the Koh-i-noor, India has long understood the strategic value of mines and minerals.

Our national security, energy security and food security needs may have changed since the time of Chanakya, but India, over the last decade, has been working with alacrity to secure its future. The National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to ramp up domestic production, acquire critical mineral assets from overseas, and focus on technology development, capacity-building and a suitable financing mechanism was announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the FY25 budget. This set the ball rolling for developing a comprehensive action plan that looked at all aspects of critical minerals.

Now, the Union Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, has approved the implementation of NCMM with a financial outlay of ₹16,300 crore to secure the long-term, sustainable supply of critical minerals and strengthen their value chains in India.