{"id":343416,"date":"2025-07-24T18:06:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=343416"},"modified":"2025-07-24T18:06:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:36:14","slug":"critical-minerals-importance-challenges-explained-pointwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/critical-minerals-importance-challenges-explained-pointwise\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Minerals – Importance & Challenges – Explained Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Metals have played a very important role in the evolution of the human civilisation that lead to the naming of important eras on the name of era defining metals like Bronze Age & Iron Age. Similarly, the minerals have also been central to the development of our economy & society for e.g. coal powered the 1st Industrial Revolution in 19th & 20th century, oil fueled the 2nd Industrial Revolution in second half of 20th century & now the critical minerals are believed to be driver of 21st century as their availability & accessibility will determine the pace & quality of growth for all major economies. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Table of Content<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What are Critical Minerals? What is the classification criterion and identified list of Critical Minerals in India?<\/a>
\nWhat is the SIGNIFICANCE of Critical Minerals for India?<\/a>
\nWhat are the CHALLENGES with Critical Minerals?<\/a>
\nWhat INITIATIVES have been taken by the Government for Critical minerals in India?<\/a>
\nWhat Should be the WAY FORWARD?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a>What are Critical Minerals? What is the classification criterion and identified list of Critical Minerals in India?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Critical Minerals: <\/strong>Critical minerals are a category of non-fuel minerals and elements<\/span>\u00a0which satisfy 2 conditions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Economic development & National Security<\/strong><\/span> =<\/span> Essential for economic development<\/span> and national security as they are vital for development of materials for defense, aerospace, nuclear, and space applications<\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Supply chain vulnerability<\/strong> = There are associated risk of supply chain vulnerability and disruption with these minerals, due to their<\/span><\/span> lack of availability, and concentration of existence, extraction or processing of these minerals in few geographical locations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Factors Affecting Criticality:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Critical
    Source: Ministry of Mines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
    Economic Importance (EI)<\/strong><\/td>\nSupply Risk (SR)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    1. Disruption Potential
    \n2. Substitutability Index (SI)
    \n3. GVA Multiplier Score
    \n4. Cross-Cutting Index (CCI)<\/td>\n    		1. Governance-weighted Material Concentration
    \n2. End-of-life Recycling Rates (EOL-RR)
    \n3. Import Reliance (IR) and Self-Sufficiency (SS)
    \n4. Substitutability Index (SR)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Critical Minerals identified in India: <\/strong>Government of India identified 30 minerals as Critical in July 2023 based on their strategic importance to clean energy & future technologies, high import dependence, domestic resource constraints & relevance for agricultural & industrial needs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Antimony
    \nBeryllium
    \nBismuth
    \nCobalt
    \nCopper
    \nGallium
    \nGermanium
    \nGraphite
    \nHafnium
    \nIndium<\/td>\n    		Lithium
    \nMolybdenum
    \nNiobium<\/span><\/span>
    \nNickel
    \nPGE
    \nPhosphorous
    \nPotash
    \nREE
    \nRhenium
    \nSilicon<\/td>\n    		Strontium
    \nTantalum
    \nTellurium
    \nTin
    \nTitanium
    \nTungsten
    \nVanadium
    \nZirconium
    \nSelenium
    \nCadmium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Critical minerals\u00a0 have strategic importance in sectors like defence, agriculture, energy, pharmaceutical, telecom. However, these minerals face supply chain vulnerabilities<\/span>, due to their lack of availability and concentration in a few geographical locations. Hence, India has been focusing on securing the supplies of critical minerals.<\/p>\n

    <\/a>What is the SIGNIFICANCE of Critical Minerals for India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

    1. Push to India’s Economic Development:<\/strong>\u00a0These Minerals give a push to India’s economic development as industries such as high-tech electronics<\/span>, telecommunications<\/span>, transport<\/span>, and defense<\/span> rely heavily on these minerals. Their growth can lead to job creation, income generation, and innovation in these sectors. For ex-<\/strong> India’s push to become semiconductor manufacturing hub rests on the availability of these minerals<\/span>.<\/p>\n

    2. Energy transition towards Net-Zero Emissions: <\/strong>These\u00a0minerals are the foundation of modern technologies like solar panels<\/span>, wind turbines<\/span> and advanced batteries<\/span>, which will help in energy transition and would give a push to India’s goal of net-zero emission by 2070<\/span>.<\/p>\n

    3. Competitive value chain establishment in India: <\/strong>The discovery of critical mineral wealth and identification of areas of their potential use in advanced technologies will help in establishing competitive value chain in India. This would help in attracting foreign direct investments<\/span> from countries like UK, USA as part of their China+1 strategy<\/span>.<\/p>\n

    4. National Security:<\/strong>\u00a0These minerals are vital for defense<\/span>, aerospace<\/span>, nuclear<\/span>, and space applications<\/span> due to their usage in development of high-quality and reliable materials capable of withstanding extreme conditions and performing complex functions. These would in turn help in bolstering India’s national security.<\/p>\n

    5. Reducing India’s import Bill: <\/strong>Currently most of the critical minerals are imported in India. The exploration and increased production of these minerals would help in reducing India’s import burden<\/span> and Current Account Deficit.<\/p>\n

    \"Import
    Source- Ministry of Mines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    <\/a>What are the CHALLENGES with Critical Minerals?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

    1. Geopolitical and oligopolistic monopoly:<\/strong>\u00a0The concentration of critical minerals in few countries, has led to geopolitical monopoly with only a few countries dominating these mineral resources. This leads to oligopolistic<\/span> (domination by a few large firms) markets. For ex-<\/strong> Australia controls 55% of lithium reserves<\/span>, and China has 60% of rare earths<\/span>.<\/p>\n

    2. China’s dominance in the processing and refining sector:<\/strong>\u00a0China is a central player in the global critical mineral supply chains, particularly in processing and refining. It accounts for: <\/span><\/p>\n