Minister Hopes India Will Meet Demand For Lithium From Within Country In 3-4 Years

Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said he was hopeful that India would be able to meet the demand for critical minerals like lithium from within the country in three-four years.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the celebrations of 175 years of the Geological Survey of India in Kolkata, he said the National Critical Mineral Mission is aimed at ramping up the mining of critical minerals like lithium.

"We need lithium for batteries of mobiles, and for solar panels. In the next three-four years, we are hopeful that we will be able to meet the demand for minerals like lithium from within the country and it will be of great help," he said.

The minister said approval has been given for 'Rs 32,000 crore for the critical mineral mission'.

He said the GSI is playing an important role in meeting the objectives of the National Critical Mineral Mission.

Reddy said the demand for critical minerals has been on the rise all over the world, and the mission will lessen "our import dependence".

"It will help India achieve the top spot in mineral exploration by 2047 to realise the mission of 'Viksit Bharat'," he said.

Addressing the programme, Reddy said the GSI is working in collaboration with Argentina on five Lithium blocks in the Latin American country.

He said that since its inception in 1851, when the GSI was set up by the British to explore coal reserves, it has traversed a long way—exploring different minerals and natural gas.

"Not only exploration of minerals, but GSI has played a critical role in dam construction, tunnelling, preserving heritage, and disaster preparedness," he said.

Maintaining that the GSI has contributed immensely to the economy of the country, Reddy said it helped industries grow and laid the foundation of India's growth.

He said mineral exploration has risen by two times since 2014 and the sector has grown exponentially.

"India is working on offshore mineral exploration and with that objective, the government started auctioning offshore mineral exploration blocks," he said.

The minister said GSI will build an integrated national disaster prevention network.

"GSI's capacity building should be harnessed towards adapting cutting-edge technologies to access the latest imaging techniques, adhering to all global benchmarks and setting new ones," he said.

Reddy referred to GSI's role in preserving and showcasing the heritage, which he said would be of great help for archaeology students.

"GSI has to be proactive, innovative and flexible to reach out to students, and create more enthusiasm among them, to make everyone a participant in its journey," he said.

Two mobile apps, one for field data acquisition and another named 'Bhu Virasat' for promoting geo-tourism sites, were launched by the minister at the programme.

GSI's Director-General Asit Saha said India is the only country, which has done geological mapping.