India is endowed with huge resources of many metallic and non-metallic minerals, and currently produces as many as 95 minerals. But India’s mineral production growth has stagnated since last five years.

Need for New Mineral Policy

• Low CAGR: The 5-year CAGR (from FY19 to FY24) of most of the major minerals (in quantity terms) is in single digits or declining.
• High Employment Potential Sector: Mining is a huge labor-intensive sector.
  • 10% increase in mineral production, in value terms, could generate an additional 50,000 - 70,000 daily jobs.
• Import Reliance: India is 100% import dependent for certain critical minerals.
  • Critical minerals are metallic or non-metallic elements like lithium, graphite, etc that are considered to have a role in a country’s economic or national security.
• To curb Other challenges: Bureaucratic hurdles, regulatory hurdles, and lack of infrastructure.

Recommendations of Report

• Comprehensive policy that spans entire value chain E.g.:
  • Advanced geoscience techniques, sustainable extraction methods, Establishing robust processing facilities etc.
  • International Collaboration with other countries.
  • Enhancing of processing capacity.
  • Involvement of private sector.
  • Introduction of PLI, Promoting a circular economy through recycling.