The Business Bytes
New Delhi, April 30, 2024 (TBB Bureau): Invest India underscored on Tuesday the substantial business prospects for critical mineral processing within the nation to overseas investors, elucidating the fiscal and non-fiscal perks extended to propel advancement in this burgeoning domain.
On the conclding day of the critical minerals summit, primary mining states like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh also divulged the inducements proffered by them to the industry, accentuating the country’s trajectory of growth and the interventions at the state level to cultivate conducive infrastructure.
The spotlight shone on a cluster-centric methodology to foster synergies in mineral extraction, refining, and utilization, particularly in the realm of low-carbon technologies.
Under the stewardship of the Narendra Modi government, the exploration of critical minerals gained momentum over the past biennium, resulting in over 100 critical mineral blocks now in the pipeline, slated for auction to mining conglomerates.
Essential raw materials such as lithium, chromium, nickel, graphite, cobalt, titanium, and rare earth elements are imperative for sectors like electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, defense, and advanced telecommunications.
Presently, the extraction of these minerals is monopolized by a handful of nations, notably China, thereby rendering the supply chain susceptible to geopolitical vicissitudes.
The discourse at the summit on Tuesday underscored the significance of regulatory predictability, financing frameworks, and adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards to allure investors.
Panelists shed light on the facilitation services rendered by entities like Invest India and the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL), streamlining the establishment of processing and beneficiation capacities within India.
The summit galvanized a heterogeneous cohort of Indian and international stakeholders, encompassing industry stalwarts, burgeoning enterprises, governmental dignitaries, scholars, academics, and policy wonks, to expedite the indigenous production of critical minerals, bolstering India’s economic prowess.
Veena Kumari Dermal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, in her concluding remarks underscored both domestic and international endeavors to fortify the critical mineral supply chain, augment skill development in India, and prioritize critical minerals recycling.
Dermal also accentuated India’s extant processing technologies for these minerals and alluded to amendments in offshore mining regulations.
The summit served as a crucible for transformative discourse and collaboration, laying the groundwork for subsequent deliberations aimed at charting the requisite course for India’s ascendancy as a global frontrunner in the critical mineral domain.
