The Union government has set a strong foundation to secure India’s critical minerals supply and processing through legal reforms and targeted investments, said Piyush Goyal, Secretary, Ministry of Mines here on Monday.
To build a resilient critical minerals ecosystem, the country should rapidly develop domestic processing capacities and should also ensure tight industry-academia collaboration, he said while delivering an address Critical Minerals Summit organised by Foundation of Science Innovation and Development at Indian Institute of Science.
Addressing a large gathering on Critical Mineral community, reseracheers, scientists, Mr. Goyal said, the Geological Survey of India led explorations with about 200 projects during 2024-25 and another 230 projects across the country are expected to happen this year.
According to him, these efforts were aimed at boosting private sector investment. Also, 33 private exploration agencies have been approved and funded through the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust, he added.
The wew exploration license framework was aimed at derisking early-stage exploration, encouraging more private investments in deep and critical minerals, he further said.
The National Critical Minerals Mission, already has a budget of ₹16,300 crore and an expected ₹18,000 crore investment from PSUs and overseas asset purchases, would drive the development of the entire mineral value chain in the country.
“The mission focuses on securing minerals through exploration, foreign acquisitions, and long-term offtake agreements. The government is actively formulating policies to rapidly establish domestic processing and refining capabilities for critical minerals, informed by three rounds of stakeholder consultations,’‘ Mr. Goyal said.
Recycling gets a boost
According to him, recycling has been prioritised with a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme approved by the Union Cabinet to boost lithium-ion battery scrap recycling and e-waste feedstock processing. Recycling capacity is expected to reach 100% of the country’s e-waste soon, supported by industry investments and government incentives launched in October.
“The government has conducted three consultation rounds with industry to design policies that support setting up processing plants that cover refining, alloy production, and recycling. The ministry aims to establish a complete processing value chain within the shortest possible time to reduce supply risks from global dependencies,’‘ Mr. Goyal added.
Published – October 13, 2025 09:51 pm IST
