Lok Sabha Question No. 1884 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: National Critical Mineral Mission
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Shri Ashok Kumar Rawat, Shri Yaduveer Wadiyar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1884

ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026

## NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERAL MISSION

## †1884. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT: SHRI YADUVEER WADIYAR:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the progress made especially with regard to exploration, auction and processing of critical minerals since the launch of the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM);
- (b)  the  manner  in  which  domestic  value  chains  for  critical  minerals  have  been strengthened at various stages of exploration, enrichment, recycling and research and development;
- (c)  the details of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) established under NCMM and their role in technology development and collaboration with industry;
- (d) the steps taken to reduce dependence on imports and secure mineral assets abroad through international cooperation; and
- (e) the expected outcomes of NCMM during the remaining implementation period till 2030-31?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (e): The Union Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) on 29.01.2025 with the objectives of securing India's critical mineral supply chain and strengthening  the  critical  mineral  value  chains.  The  progress  made  under the mission, inter-alia , includes the following:
-  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).
-  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.
-  Since the  amendment to  the  MMDR  Act  in  2023,  Central  Government  has

successfully auctioned 46 (as on 05.02.2026) 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.

-  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.
-  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.
-  Under NCMM, ₹500 crore has been earmarked to support domestic critical mineral processing capabilities by developing mineral processing parks using existing infrastructure.

The Government has recognised nine premier institutes as Centres of Excellence (CoEs)  under  the  NCMM  to  carry  out  Research  &  Development  (R&D)  for strengthening  domestic  capabilities  in  the  critical  mineral  value  chain.  Each  CoE operates  as  a  consortium,  on  a  Hub  &  Spoke  model,  to  leverage  the  core competence of constituent industry and academic spokes. These CoEs undertake consortium-based R&D to accelerate technological advancement and R&D capacity in the mining sector, foster the development of indigenous technologies, and support a self-reliant and resilient critical minerals supply chain. Details of the CoEs are given below:

- i. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay
- ii. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad
- iii. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee
- iv.  Indian  Institute  of  Technology  (IIT)  Indian  School  of  Mines  (ISM), Dhanbad
- v. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
- vi. CSIR -Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar
- vii. CSIR - National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), Jamshedpur
- viii.  Non-Ferrous  Materials  Technology  Development  Centre  (NFTDC), Hyderabad
- ix. Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET), Hyderabad

Khanij  Bidesh  India  Limited  (KABIL),  under  Ministry  of  Mines,  has  signed  an Exploration and Development Agreement with CAMYEN, a state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province of Argentina, for exploration and mining of five Lithium  Brine Blocks in Argentina covering an area of 15703 Ha. KABIL regularly holds meeting with other PSUs (CIL, OIL, OVL, NLCIL etc) to discuss potential opportunities to acquire  critical  mineral  assets  abroad.  Further,  to  strengthen  the  critical  mineral sector and cooperation with mineral resource rich countries, the Ministry has entered into bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a number of countries, such as Australia, Argentina, Zambia, Peru, Germany.

| Key heads                                                      |   Total (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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