Finally, a holistic mission minerals

It has been an important week for building the blocks of India's energy transition: a clear, holistic approach for a critical minerals policy. Just days ahead of budget, the Union Cabinet approved the Rs 12,400 cr National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM) that had been announced in the July 2024 budget. This was followed up by Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a tailings policy - set of guidelines for managing waste materials from mining operations - and duty exemptions for non-ferrous scrap as source of critical minerals.

A comprehensive approach on critical minerals was long overdue. Earlier efforts had been piecemeal, not building into clear policy and a roadmap. In 2019, a Nalco-HCL-MECL joint venture - Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) - was set up to acquire critical mineral sources outside the country. It took another four years to identify 30 critical minerals. Two years later, policies and measures for securing long-term sustainable supply and strengthening value chains have been finalised. NCMM sets out the approach till 2030-31, addressing domestic production, acquisition of assets abroad, recycling of critical minerals as well as issues related to trade, R&D, HR and financing.

The mission must be reviewed regularly to remain fit for purpose. Augmenting production shouldn't impose undue environmental and biodiversity costs. Including the environment, forests and climate change ministry in the empowered committee will avoid this. To secure assets abroad, India should explore strategic partnerships, including local production and value addition, especially in other developing countries. The resource efficiency policy must be finalised to maximise use of critical minerals, their recovery from secondary sources and recycling.