India needs carefully crafted multi-dimensional mineral policy: Eco Survey

The country needs a carefully crafted multi-dimensional mineral policy to address the issues posed by uneven distribution of rare earth elements, the Economic Survey on Tuesday said.

Cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs) are critical for producing electric vehicles and batteries and harnessing solar power and wind energy.

“While the demand for critical minerals is set to increase because of the global preference and emphasis towards renewable energy, the global supply chain of the critical minerals is highly concentrated and unevenly distributed. The skewed distribution of the resource poses a supply risk in the face of its enhanced demand.