Govt plans to provide financial incentives for development of critical minerals #IndustryFinance

The government on Wednesday said it plans to provide financial incentives for development of critical minerals, including lithium. Speaking during the Budget Seminar on National Critical Minerals Mission, Mines Joint Secretary Veena Kumari Dermal said there will also be an emphasis on securing loans from multilateral financial institutions for the development of the sector.

The government, she said, will focus on global R&D collaboration across the critical minerals value chain.

To encourage the participation of Indian public and private sector companies in the acquisition of assets abroad, the government will provide targeted subsidies for mining, and for setting up evacuation infrastructure.

The mines ministry will work very closely with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to support the development of mineral evacuation infrastructure.

Union Budget 2024-25 had proposed launching Critical Mineral Mission for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals, and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets.

The Critical Minerals Mission aims to secure the country’s critical mineral supply chain by ensuring mineral availability from domestic and foreign sources. It also aims at strengthening the value chains by enhancing technological, regulatory, and financial ecosystems to foster innovation, skill development, and global competitiveness in mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recycling.