India Secures Rare Earth Future with 1,200 Exploration Projects & Strategic Global Acquisitions

New Delhi, June 28, 2025 — In a major leap toward enhancing supply chain resilience, India has launched its National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), targeting over 1,200 exploration projects for rare earth and critical minerals by 2031. Complementing this domestic effort, the country is also actively acquiring overseas mineral assets—signaling a decisive move to secure essential inputs for cutting-edge technologies and energy transition.

📌 Domestic Exploration Drive

• 1,200 Domestic Projects: Spearheaded by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), India aims to explore for critical minerals—including rare earth elements (REEs), lithium, cobalt, and nickel—across the nation and offshore zones. GSI has initiated around 200 projects in FY25, with additional hundreds planned in the coming years

• Private Sector Entry: Recent policy changes now allow private companies to explore mineral resources. The government incentivises exploration—reimbursing up to 50% of costs if no reserves are found—in a push to accelerate development

🌍 Overseas Acquisitions & Partnerships

• KABIL’s Global Reach: Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), a joint PSUs venture, is acquiring strategic mineral assets abroad, focusing on lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths in Argentina, Brazil, and Australia

• Mineral Security & International Alliances: India has joined the Mineral Security Partnership and signed bilateral pacts with Australia, Japan, and Central Asian nations to diversify supply chains and mitigate China’s dominance

🔬 Strategic Importance of Rare Earths

• Tech-Sector Backbone: Rare earth elements are essential to electronics, renewable energy, defense, AI, and electric vehicles. Despite holding the world’s third-largest reserves, India’s mining output remains low—under 1% globally—highlighting the urgent need to scale domestic capacity

• Atmanirbhar Ambitions: By boosting mining, refining, and processing capabilities—such as the new Rare Earth Permanent Magnet plant in Visakhapatnam—India aims to reduce import dependency, particularly on 

🧭 Future Path & Challenges

• Mission Investment: The NCMM has a planned outlay of ₹34,300 crore through 2031, split between government and PSU investments. Funds will support exploration, R&D, processing infrastructure, recycling, and Centers of Excellence

• Environmental & Technical Hurdles: Processing REEs is resource-intensive and environmentally sensitive. India is stepping up R&D through BARC, CSIR, and institutional collaboration to build sustainable extraction and processing methods

Bottom line: With a robust strategy that combines vast domestic exploration and strategic global acquisitions, India is decisively advancing toward self-reliance in critical minerals. As the nation strengthens its supply chains and processing capabilities, it is poised to boost its global standing in technology, clean energy, and defense sectors.