Parliament Question: Status of rare earth mineral reserves and plans to meet future demand

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2669 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 STATUS OF RARE EARTH MINERAL RESERVES AND PLANS TO MEET FUTURE DEMAND 2669. SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE: Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state: (a) estimated reserves of rare earth minerals available in country, mineral-wise and State/UT- wise; (b) whether Government has assessed projected demand for rare earth elements (REEs) over next 10–15 years, particularly for sectors such as defence, electronics, renewable energy and electric mobility; (c) if so, details of this assessment and extent to which existing domestic reserves are expected to meet future demand; (d) whether Government has formulated any policy or strategy for enhancing exploration and processing of rare earths within country; and (e) steps being taken to reduce import dependence for critical minerals, including collabouration with public sector enterprises, private sector entities or international partners? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY) (a): The resources of Rare Earth Elements (REEs), estimated by Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), as on date, are as follows: i) Approximately 7.23 million tonne (Mt) in-situ Total Rare Earth Oxide Equivalent (TREO Eq.) contained in 13.15 Mt monazite [a mineral of thorium and Rare Earths] occurring in teri, beach sands and inland alluvium in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra. State-wise monazite resource is as follows: State Monazite (Quantity in million tonne) Odisha 3.22 Andhra Pradesh 4.05 Tamil Nadu 2.55 Kerala 1.84 Maharashtra 0.004 Gujarat 0.07 West Bengal 1.20Jharkhand 0.21 Total 13.15 ii) 1.29 Mt in-situ REE resource (TREO Eq.) in hard rock terrains in parts of Gujarat (1.12 Mt) and Rajasthan (0.17 Mt). (b) to (d): Various studies indicate increase in demand for REEs in India by nearly 1.5 to 2 times by 2030. While India possesses notable geological resources of rare earth minerals, their utilisation depends on continued exploration, development of mining and processing capacity, and economic viability. In order to strengthen domestic capabilities in this sector, the Union Cabinet, in November 2025, approved the “Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets” with a financial outlay of Rs. 7280 crore to establish 6,000 Metric Tons per Annum (MTPA) of integrated Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) manufacturing capacity in India. To complement the REPM Scheme, the Union Budget 2026–27 has announced the creation of dedicated Rare Earth Corridors in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to focus on mining, processing, research and manufacturing, leveraging the REEs in these States. (e): The Government has taken various steps to reduce import dependence for critical minerals. The Union Cabinet has approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) on 29 January, 2025 to secure a long-term sustainable supply of critical minerals (including REEs) and strengthen India’s critical mineral value chain encompassing all stages from mineral exploration and mining to beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of life products. Additionally, the following initiatives have been taken to strengthen the critical mineral sector in the country:  GSI has intensified exploration of critical and strategic minerals including REEs in the country in order to enhance domestic critical mineral resources. In 2024-25, GSI took up 78 mineral exploration projects on REEs and 93 projects during 2025-26 across the country.  The Ministry of Mines has successfully auctioned 46 critical mineral blocks, including 7 blocks of REEs. Additionally, the Central Government has also successfully auctioned 7 blocks of Exploration License, which include two blocks of REEs.  The Government has recognized 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.  The Union Cabinet has approved a ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme to promote critical mineral recycling (including REEs) under NCMM. 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 (including REEs) from overburden/ tailings/ fly ash/ red mud, etc were issued on 14.11.2025.  The government has eliminated customs duties on 25 minerals and reduced Basic Customs Duties (BCD) on two minerals during Budget 2024-25. During Budget 2025- 26, Government of India exempted cobalt powder and waste, scrap of lithium-ion batteries, lead, zinc, and 12 other critical minerals from Basic Customs Duty. Further, the Union Budget 2026–27 has mentioned exemption from basic customs duty on import of capital goods required for processing of critical minerals in India. Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), a JV under the aegis of Ministry of Mines, has been created to acquire overseas mineral assets like Lithium, Cobalt, REE etc. KABIL regularly holds meeting with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) such as Coal India Limited (CIL), Oil India Limited (OIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL), NLC India Limited (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 Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Zambia, Peru. *****