Cabinet approves Rs 16,300 crore critical mineral mission

The Union Cabinet approved Rs 16,300 crore outlay for the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) Wednesday. This mission will run till 2030-31 with sops for recycling critical minerals and derisking overseas acquisition of assets.

Officials said the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) will earmark Rs 8,700 crore for this mission. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) will fund Rs 4,000 crore while Rs 2,600 crore will be met from the budget.

"Another Rs 18,000 crore is expected to be invested by public sector undertakings (PSUs). The effective investment of this mission will be close to Rs 34,300 crore," Minister for Information Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw told journalists after the Cabinet meeting.


The government aims to boost domestic critical minerals production by expanding exploration and mining activities, with government agencies undertaking 1,200 exploration projects. Over 100 blocks of critical mineral resources will be auctioned by fiscal 2030-2031 under this mission.

The centre has already eliminated import duty on critical minerals. "Import duties and other barriers on recyclable materials such as scrap, black mass, and e-waste shall also be reviewed," a senior official added.

Pilot projects will also be set up for mineral recovery from various sources such as overburden, tailings, fly ash, red mud, and existing mines among others. The centre also aims to develop four mineral processing parks to house mineral processing industries.

Appropriate fiscal measures will be developed to incentivise junior exploration and mining companies by introduction of tax credits for investments in critical minerals exploration and development. "This is aimed at reducing the financial burden on companies, and making investments more attractive and feasible," the official said.

The Mission will support the mapping and detailed exploration of critical mineral assets in resource-rich countries. Officials said the centre will also consider inclusion of critical mineral value chain in the Harmonised Master List (HML) of infrastructure sub-sectors.