Lok Sabha Question No. 728 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: National Critical Mineral Mission
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Bibhu Prasad Tarai, Shri Pradeep Kumar Singh, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya, Shri Kripanath Mallah, Shri Ananta Nayak, Shri Yogender Chandolia, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Ms Kangna Ranaut, Shri P P Chaudhary, Shri Khagen Murmu, Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram, Smt. Aparajita Sarangi, Dr. Bhola Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 728

ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERAL MISSION

## 728.    SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH:

SMT. MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH:

MS KANGNA RANAUT:

SMT. SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH BARAIYA:

SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

SHRI YOGENDER CHANDOLIA:

SHRI ANANTA NAYAK:

SHRI BIBHU PRASAD TARAI:

DR. BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI KHAGEN MURMU:

SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT:

SMT. APARAJITA SARANGI:

SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the progress achieved under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) since  its  approval,  particularly  with  regard  to  exploration,  auctioning  and processing of critical minerals;
- (b)  the  extent  to  which  domestic  value  chains  for  critical  minerals  have  been strengthened across exploration, beneficiation, recycling and Research and Development stages;
- (c)  the  details  of  Centres  of  Excellence  established  under  NCMM  and  their  role  in technology development and industry collaboration;
- (d) the steps taken to reduce import dependence and secure overseas mineral assets through international cooperation;
- (e) the expected outcomes from NCMM during the remaining implementation period which is expected to be completed by 2030-31;
- (f) whether any exploration projects have been carried out in the state of Rajasthan under the NCMM and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) whether deposits of Rare Earth Elements (REE) have been found in Rajasthan and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): 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 blocks of critical and strategic minerals. 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.

- (e): NCMM outlines the following outputs/targets:
- (f): GSI, took up 35 exploration projects for various critical and strategic minerals in 2024-25 and 40 projects in 2025-26 in Rajasthan.
- (g): GSI has estimated 83.591 million tonnes of resources of REEs in Balotra and Sikar districts  of  Rajasthan. Atomic  Minerals  Directorate  has  established  0.169  million tonnes in-situ rare earth resources in hard rocks of Balotra district, Rajasthan.

| 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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