Lok Sabha Question No. 827 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: KABIL
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Smt. Roopkumari Choudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †827

ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## KABIL

†827. SMT. ROOPKUMARI CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) the percentage of India's total current demand for lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements that are being met through imports and the details of the countries on which such imports are dependent;
- (b) the concrete achievements made  by  the Government  so  far since the establishment of Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) with regard to the acquisition of overseas mineral assets, production or supply security, project-wise details thereof;
- (c) the Government's short-term, medium-term and long-term roadmap for domestic exploration, commercial mining and processing of strategic minerals in view of the growing  requirements  of  the  EV,  battery  storage,  defence  and  renewable  energy sectors in the Country; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to give a legal and/or policy form to a National Critical  Minerals  Strategy  with  respect  to  these  minerals  and  if  so,  the  time-bound details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COAL AND MINES (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a): India's import reliance for lithium, cobalt and REEs is significant. Top countries from which India imported these critical minerals during FY 2024-25 are given below:

| Critical Mineral   | Total Import (tonne) FY 2024-25   | Major Source Countries                          |
|--------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Cobalt             | 2425.6                            | Canada, Belgium, Germany, China, USA, Japan, UK |
| Lithium            | 2,997.1                           | Ireland, China, Chile, Argentina, Russia        |
| REE                | 13,006                            | China, Malaysia, UAE, Japan, Kenya, Australia   |

Source: Department of Commerce.

(b): KABIL has signed an exploration and development agreement with a state-owned company of Catamarca Province of Argentina on 15.01.2024 and obtained exclusivity rights for exploration, development and mining in 5 brine type lithium blocks, covering an area of about 15,702 Ha, in the Catamarca Province, Argentina. First phase of exploration (non-invasive) has been completed.

Additionally,  KABIL  has  done  due  diligence  activities  for  identification  of  suitable projects  of  Lithium,  Rare  Earth  Elements  and  other  critical  minerals  for  potential investment,  on  its  own  and  with  other  Government  companies  of  India,  in  various countries having critical minerals.

(c)  and  (d): The Union Cabinet has approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) on 29.01.2025, for a period from 2024-25 to 2030-31, which provides an overarching framework  for securing India's critical mineral supply chain  and strengthening critical mineral value chains.

Moreover, in view of the growing requirements of the critical minerals for EV, battery storage, defence and renewable energy sectors etc, the Government has adopted a comprehensive  strategy  and  taken  several  initiatives,  which  inter-alia  include  the following:

- i. Geological Survey of India (GSI) has intensified exploration of critical minerals. GSI carried out 195 critical mineral exploration projects in 2024-25, and took up 230 projects in 2025-26 across the country. In addition, the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust (NMEDT) sanctioned 62 projects for critical mineral exploration during 2024-25 and 60 projects during 2025-26 to Notified Private Exploration Agencies (NPEAs)/Notified Exploration Agencies (NEAs).
- ii. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act), 1957 has been amended in 2025 whereby the scope of NMEDT has been expanded to support critical mineral exploration and mining overseas.
- iii. Since  the  amendment  to  the  MMDR Act  in  2023,  Central  Government  has successfully auctioned 46 blocks of Critical and Strategic Mineral. In addition, 7 blocks have been auctioned under the Exploration Licence regime, out of which 3 are critical mineral blocks.
- iv. The Union Cabinet has approved a ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme to promote critical mineral recycling. The Scheme Guidelines were issued and the Scheme was launched on 02.10.2025.
- v. Guidelines for funding pilot projects for the recovery  of critical minerals from overburden/ tailings/ fly ash/ red mud, etc were issued on 14.11.2025.

Further, the NCMM outlines the following outputs/targets:

| Key heads                                                      |   Total (FY 2024-25 to 2030- 31) |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| Domestic Critical Mineral Exploration Projects                 |                             1200 |
| Foreign Critical Mineral Mines                                 |                               50 |
| Incentive scheme for recycling - total materials recycled (kt) |                              400 |
| Patents in critical mineral value chain                        |                             1000 |
| Skill development                                              |                            10000 |
| Mineral Processing Parks                                       |                                4 |
| Centre of Excellence                                           |                                3 |
| Mineral Stockpile (cumulative)                                 |                                5 |

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