Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Mines addresses exploration of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and critical minerals in response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4503 on August 20, 2025. The government is actively promoting exploration through the Geological Survey of India (GSI), National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), and incentives for private sector involvement. The aim is to secure a long-term supply of critical minerals, mitigate challenges faced by the Indian EV sector due to export restrictions, and boost domestic availability.
Key Points / Main Content:
Exploration Initiatives:
* GSI has prioritized exploration of critical and strategic minerals, undertaking 628 projects from field seasons 2020-21 to 2024-25, including 261 REE-focused projects.
* For the 2025-26 field season, GSI has 230 mineral exploration projects for critical minerals, with 94 focused on REEs.
* NMET provides funding support to Notified Exploration Agencies and Notified Private Exploration Agencies, sanctioning 196 projects on critical and strategic minerals amounting to Rs 575 crores.
* State-wise details of critical mineral reserves and resources are provided in the Annexure.
Private Sector Involvement:
* Exploration Licence introduced via auction to encourage private sector investment in exploration of 29 critical and deep-seated minerals, with revenue share eligibility upon mine production.
* 33 private exploration agencies notified for NMET-funded projects.
* Incentives for private sector include:
* 100% funding for mineral exploration projects of Notified Private Exploration Agencies.
* Reimbursement of exploration expenses up to 50% for Exploration Licenses and Composite Licenses holders.
* Exploration incentive of 25% of approved project cost for G4 items of critical, strategic, and deep-seated minerals if the block is successfully auctioned or upgraded to G3 stage.
* National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) launched in January 2025 to secure a sustainable supply of critical minerals.
Support for the EV Sector:
* Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) promotes new EV technologies and Research and Development (R&D) through:
* Allowing Engineering R&D and product design development expenditure as part of Eligible Investment under PLIAuto, PLI ACC, and SPMEPCI schemes.
* Supporting up to 80% of R&D project costs via the Capital Goods scheme, housed in academic institutes (IITs, IISc).
* Setting up centers of excellence for niche technologies.
* Allocating Rs.780 crore under PM EDRIVE for upgrading testing agencies for EV-related testing.
* International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) has developed advanced battery technologies.
Impact Analysis:
Ministry of Mines:
Impact: Responsible for prioritizing and intensifying the exploration of critical and strategic minerals through GSI and NMET, as well as encouraging private sector participation and investment.
Action Required: Continue to implement exploration projects, provide funding support, and refine policies to attract private investment in critical mineral exploration and mining.
Private Sector Entities:
Impact: Encouraged to participate in exploration, mining, and research & development of REEs and critical minerals through incentives and a new Exploration Licence.
Action Required: Take advantage of funding opportunities from NMET, participate in auctions for Exploration Licenses, and invest in R&D to enhance domestic availability of critical minerals.
Indian EV Sector:
Impact: Benefits from government efforts to mitigate challenges posed by export restrictions on REEs and critical minerals, including diversification of import sources and acceleration of R&D in EV components and battery technologies.
Action Required: Monitor and leverage government initiatives and funding for EV-related R&D, and collaborate with research institutions to develop advanced battery technologies.
Geological Survey of India (GSI):
Impact: Tasked with conducting mineral exploration projects for critical and strategic minerals, including REEs.
Action Required: Execute exploration projects as planned, focusing on the critical minerals specified in Part D of the First Schedule to the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023.
National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET):
Impact: Responsible for providing funding support to exploration agencies to boost domestic availability of critical minerals.
Action Required: Continue to sanction and monitor projects related to critical and strategic mineral exploration, ensuring effective utilization of funds.
Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI):
Impact: Oversees promotion of new technologies and R&D related to EVs through various schemes and initiatives.
Action Required: Continue supporting R&D projects, upgrading testing agencies, and fostering collaboration between industry and research institutions to advance EV technologies.
Key Entities Referenced
Rare Earth Elements: A set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the fifteen lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. They are strategically important in various technologies.
Critical Minerals: Minerals that are considered essential for various industries and technologies, but whose supply chains are vulnerable.
Ministry of Mines: The Indian government ministry responsible for the regulation and development of the mining sector in India.
Geological Survey of India: An attached office of the Ministry of Mines, responsible for geological surveys and exploration of minerals.
MMDR Amendment Act, 2023: An Indian law amending the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, with provisions related to exploration and auctioning of critical minerals.
National Mineral Exploration Trust: A trust under the Ministry of Mines that provides funding for mineral exploration projects.
National Critical Mineral Mission: An initiative launched in January 2025 to secure a long-term sustainable supply of critical minerals and strengthen the country's critical mineral value chains.
Jharkhand: A state in eastern India with significant mineral reserves, including Cobalt.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINES
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No.4503
ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025
EXPLORATION OF REEs AND CRITICAL MINERALS
4503. SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:
Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the steps taken by the Government to carry out exploration of Rare
Earth Elements (REEs) and Critical Minerals in different parts of the country along with
the State-wise breakdown of the reserves discovered so far;
(b) the details of the challenges faced by Private Sector entities in exploration, mining
and research & development of the Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals along
with the measures taken by the Government to promote their greater involvement in
these sectors; and
(c) the details of steps envisaged by the Government to mitigate the challenges faced
by the Indian EV sector including but not limited to efforts such as diversification of
import sources and acceleration of research and development in EV components and
battery technologies in light of the recent export restrictions on REEs and Critical
Minerals by China?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF COAL AND MINES
(SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)
(a): The Geological Survey of India (GSI), an attached office of the Ministry of
Mines, has prioritized and intensified the exploration of critical and strategic minerals.
GSI carried out 628 mineral exploration projects on various critical and strategic
minerals including 261 projects exclusively targeting Rare Earth Elements (REEs)
from field seasons 2020-21 to 2024-25. In the field season 2025-26, GSI has taken up
230 mineral exploration projects for critical minerals specified in Part D of First
Schedule to the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023, of which 94 projects are focused on
the exploration of REEs.
Further, the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), Ministry of Mines also
provides funding support to Notified Exploration Agencies and Notified
Private Exploration Agencies to boost domestic availability of critical minerals in thecountry. So far, 196 projects on critical and strategic minerals amounting to Rs 575
crores has been sanctioned by NMET.
The State-wise details of critical mineral reserves and resources in the country
are at Annexure.
(b): There are 24 critical minerals listed in the new Part-D of the First Schedule of
the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 which includes
Lithium, Nickel, Tungsten, Titanium, Graphite, etc. These minerals have been
specified as critical and strategic minerals because of concentration of production and
supply in limited geographies around the world. These minerals are difficult to explore
and mine as compared to surfacial or bulk minerals. The Central Government is
empowered to auction blocks of these minerals. Till date, 34 critical and strategic
mineral blocks have been successfully auctioned by the Central Government.
In order to encourage private sector participation and investment in exploration
of 29 critical and deep-seated minerals specified in the Seventh Schedule of the
MMDR Amendment Act, 2023, a new mining concession called Exploration Licence
has been introduced which is given through auction. A holder of the Exploration
Licence invests in exploration in licenced area and is eligible for revenue share from
the mine(s) which have been explored by the Exploration Licence holder when these
mine(s) start production and dispatch of minerals.
Further, the Ministry of Mines has also notified 33 private exploration agencies
for taking up exploration projects through funding from National Mineral Exploration
Trust (NMET).
The incentives given through NMET to encourage participation by private sector
in mineral exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals are as follows:
(i) 100% funding for mineral exploration projects
of Notified Private Exploration Agencies.
(ii) Support for holders of Exploration Licenses and Composite Licenses
by reimbursing exploration expenses upto 50% of the total expenditure
incurred.
(iii) Exploration incentive of 25% of the approved projects cost of the G4 items
for critical, strategic and deep-seated minerals to the exploration agencies if the
block is successfully auctioned or upgraded to G3 stage.
The Government has also launched National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM)
in January, 2025 with an aim to secure a long-term sustainable supply of critical
minerals and strengthen country’s critical mineral value chains encompassing allstages from mineral exploration and mining to beneficiation, processing and recovery
from end-of-life products. The Ministry of Mines under its S&T programme also funds
Research and Development projects in critical and strategic minerals processing.
(c): As per the information available with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), the
Government is promoting new technologies and spending on Research and
Development (R&D) related to EVs through the following :
1. The expenditure incurred on Engineering R&D and product design & development
is allowed to be considered as part of Eligible Investment under PLI-Auto, PLI ACC
and SPMEPCI schemes.
2. Under the Capital Goods scheme of MHI, up to 80% of the cost of R&D projects
including those on EVs is supported. These projects are housed in leading academic
institutes like IITs, IISc., etc. The balance 20% is borne by the industry partners.
3. Centres of excellence have been set up for development of niche technologies not
available in India, including technologies related to EVs.
4. An amount of Rs.780 crore is allocated under PM E-DRIVE for upgradation of
testing agencies especially for EV related testing. This will also facilitate EV related
R&D efforts of the automotive industry.
5. Further, the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and
New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an autonomous R&D centre under Department of
Science and Technology (DST), has developed several advanced battery
technologies viz. development of materials for Lithium and Sodium ion and Lithium
Sulphur (LiS) batteries; Fabrication and validation of cylindrical and pouch cells,
development of cost-effective and high-performance composite PCMS for battery
thermal management systems in EV Applications, development of Aluminium-ion
Battery as alternative to LIBs in EV and ESS applications, development of Hybrid-
models for accelerated service life predication of LIBs and other battery systems,
development of Eco-friendly process (wet & dry) for battery electrode fabrications,
development of a scalable method for tuning the internal pore structure and porosity
of a metal or alloy for thermal energy absorption, storage, and conversion applications.
*****Annexure
The State-wise details of critical mineral reserves and resources in the country
Critical mineral reserves as per NMI as on 01.04.2020
Sr. Mineral State Unit Reserves Remaining Total
No. Resources Resources
1 COBALT Jharkhand Million 0 9 9
tonnes
Nagaland 0 5 5
Odisha 0 31 31
ALL INIDA 0 45 45
2 GRAPHITE Andhra Tonnes 0 1138275 1138275
Pradesh
Arunachal 0 76318257 76318257
Pradesh
Chhattisgarh 5282 1330 6612
Gujarat 0 3355805 3355805
Jammu & 0 62740555 62740555
Kashmir
Jharkhand 2604079 17402288 20006366.98
Karnataka 0 992632 992632
Kerala 15443 1419532 1434975
Madhya 0 12640000 12640000
Pradesh
Maharashtra 0 1160000 1160000
Odisha 2838414 17142707 19981121
Rajasthan 0 1913554 1913554
Tamil Nadu 3100193 6605086 9705279
Telangana 0 219455 219455
Uttarakhand 0 10700 10700
ALL INIDA 8563411 203060176.3 211623587
3 MOLYBDENUM Karnataka Tonnes
Ore 0 1320900 1320900
Contained 0 1718.7 1718.7
MoS2
Madhya
Pradesh
Ore 0 8000000 8000000
Contained 0 5020 5020
MoS2Tamil Nadu
Ore 0 17882498 17882498
Contained 0 10151.86 10151.86
MoS2
ALL INIDA
Ore 0 27203398 27203398
Contained 0 16890.56 16890.56
MoS2
4 NICKEL Jharkhand Million 0 9 9
tonnes
Karnataka 0 ** **
Nagaland 0 5 5
Odisha 0 175 175
ALL INIDA 0 189 189
5 ROCK Gujarat Tonnes 0 314820 314820
PHOSPHATE
Jharkhand 0 107370000 107370000
Madhya 9031093 49425938 58457031
Pradesh
Meghalaya 0 1311035 1311035
Rajasthan 21845000 72003769 93848769
Uttar 0 25773444 25773444
Pradesh
Uttarakhand 0 24178386 24178386
ALL INIDA 30876093 280377391.6 311253484.6
6 PLATINUM Karnataka Tonnes 0 1.5 1.5
GROUP OF of metal
Kerala 0 0.18 0.18
METALS (PGMs) content
Odisha 0 14.2 14.2
Tamilnadu 0 1.69 1.69
Uttar 0 3.35 3.35
Pradesh
ALL INIDA 0 20.92 20.92
7 POTASH* Bihar Million 0 230 230
tonnes
Jharkhand 0 152 152
Madhya 0 1244 1244
Pradesh
Rajasthan 0 20572 20572
Uttar 0 893 893
Pradesh
ALL INIDA 0 23091 230918 RARE EARTH Bihar Tonnes 0 1459 1459
ELEMENTS (REE)
Gujarat 0 424000 424000
Jharkhand 0 4 4
Karnataka 0 3734 3734
Maharashtra 0 2090 2090
Odisha 0 25493 25493
Uttar 0 2948 2948
Pradesh
ALL INIDA 0 459727 459727
9 TIN Chhattisgarh Tonnes
Ore 2101 29795176 29797277
Metal 973.99 15909.58 16883.57
Haryana
Ore 0 53910000 53910000
Metal 0 86220.6 86220.6
Odisha
Ore 0 15618 15618
Metal 0 652.73 652.73
ALL INIDA
Ore 2101 83720794 83722895
Metal 973.99 102782.91 103756.9
10 TITANIUM Andhra Tonnes 0 76733874 76733874
Pradesh
Jharkhand 0 26603767 26603767
Karnataka 0 13862094 13862094
Kerala 2370712 117607659 119978371
Maharashtra 303551 3980786 4284337
Meghalaya 0 3345000 3345000
Odisha 12654140.6 53019062 65673202
Tamil Nadu 670221 113677284 114347505
West Bengal 0 2279000 2279000
ALL INIDA 15998624.6 411108525.7 427107150.3
11 TUNGSTEN Andhra Tonnes
Pradesh
Ore 0 14802300 14802300
Contained 0 20262.57 20262.57
WO3
Haryana
Ore 0 2230000 2230000Contained 0 3568 3568
WO3
Karnataka
Ore 0 36677818 36677818
Contained 0 6235 6235
WO3
Maharashtra
Ore 0 10122250 10122250
Contained 0 18590.72 18590.72
WO3
Rajasthan
Ore 0 23928294 23928294
Contained 0 93707.94 93707.94
WO3
Tamil Nadu
Ore 0 250000 250000
Contained 0 50 50
WO3
Uttarakhand
Ore 0 658000 658000
Contained 0 705 705
WO3
West Bengal
Ore 0 763802 763802
Contained 0 1530.84 1530.84
WO3
ALL INIDA
Ore 0 89432464 89432464
Contained 0 144650.07 144650.07
WO3
12 VANADIUM Karnataka Tonnes
Ore 0 19384430 19384430
Contained 0 49497.55 49497.55
V2O5
Maharashtra
Ore 0 384630 384630
Contained 0 1538.52 1538.52
V2O5
Odisha
Ore 0 4864795 4864795
Contained 0 13557.94 13557.94
V2O5
ALL INIDAOre 0 24633855 24633855
Contained 0 64594.01 64594.01
V2O5
13 ZIRCON Kerala Tonnes 156509 1240355 1396864
Odisha 476672 390247 866919
Tamil Nadu 36285 43833 80118
ALL INIDA 669466 1674435 2343901
Note : ** negligible,
* contains glauconite, polyhalite and sylvite
figures rounded off