India's Rare Earths Push Can't Afford a Delay Now

COAL INDIA, NTPC, and others have announced overseas ventures to explore battery minerals, while plans are afoot to enter into bilateral pacts with mineral-rich African and Latin American countries.

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According to industry sources and experts, these policy initiatives have come a bit late. Many countries, including some Asian peers, have moved much ahead of India in this area. While the response to India's auction process has been lukewarm, potential investors want the policy regime to be tweaked to produce better outcomes. Last week, the mines secretary, V.L. Kantha Rao, hinted at further changes in policy to bolster the NCMM.

Currently, India remains 100% import-dependent for most critical minerals, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, and germanium. Import of copper, also a key input for high-tech industry, has skyrocketed in recent years (up 10 times in a decade), with domestic production declining.

Even as demand for these minerals surges, industry remains cautious about making large-scale investments due to uncertainties in resource viability, infrastructure, and regulatory clarity. "The current auction regime treats critical minerals in almost the same manner as bulk minerals. Auctions may not be the best way to operationalise critical mineral blocks," said Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc, and ED at Vedanta.

Sector experts say that the lack of detailed resource data has hampered the government's plans to achieve self-sufficiency in critical minerals.