Skip to main content

India - Critical minerals overview

Country profile

Policies and initiatives

Governance structure

There exists dual jurisdiction on minerals resources in India, where “major minerals” come under the jurisdiction of the Union Government, while for “minor minerals”, State governments have the power to make rules and regulations with regard to concessions in the extraction of minor minerals and to levy and collection of royalties. Critical minerals fall under the purview of “major minerals”, and thus come under the Union’s jurisdiction. Most of India’s present production of rare earths come from the processing of Monazite sands in Kerala, which is a State Monopoly of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Any processing of beach sands for critical minerals processing requires a license from the DAE. Except for beach sands, other minerals require licenses from the Ministry of Mines as well as due clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.

Minerals like cobalt - pictured above - are necessary for technology such as solar panels and the batteries used to fuel renewable technology (photo credit Alchemist-hp via Wikipedia)

Australia - Critical minerals overview

Country profile

Policies and initiatives

  • The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office, launched in 2020, connects Australian critical minerals projects to investors, regulators, government financing facilities and Australia's strategic partners.
  • Australia’s 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy aims to promote investment in the sector, provides incentives to innovation, and connects critical minerals projects with infrastructure development.
  • Export Finance Australia provides support to critical minerals projects through its Defence Export Facility with financial expertise and solutions.
  • Launched in 2016, Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future Program is a concerted minerals exploration effort aimed to boost Australia’s resource potential.
  • CSIRO (Australia's National Science Agency) and the Cooperative Research Centre - Mining came together in 2016 to form Mining3, bringing together significant mining research capabilities to effectively deliver research and innovative technologies for members and the global mining industry.

Governance structure

The Australian Constitution shares responsibility between Commonwealth and State governments for Mining operations. In addition, a multitude of agencies support the minerals industry in Australia, such as Geoscience Australia, Mining3, Austrade, and CSIRO.

Related articles

Read the latest 'Critical minerals' research articles covering Australia and India - or submit your own.

Bilateral frameworks for cooperation between India and Australia

  • The  Australia-India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership will see Australia work closely with India to identify potential critical mineral investment opportunities to meet India's growing needs. During a recent meeting between Australia's Resources Minister Madeleine King and her Indian counterpart, the Honourable Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Shri Pralhad Joshi, Australia confirmed its commitment of $5.8 million to the three-year Partnership.
  • In 2015, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Geoscience Australia signed an MoU in 2015 relating to deep-mining capabilities and exploration, where short and long term roadmaps would be prepared for GSI.
In July 2022, Australia welcomed a ministerial level delegation from India as a major step in the Australia–India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.

Trade and investment opportunity

  • Critical minerals are identified as a strategically significant sector in Australia's Update to the India Economic Strategy to 2035. Its action plan includes the Australia-India Clean Technology and Critical Minerals Package which will share share innovations as the two countries transition to the new energy economy, and jointly take advantage of opportunities to boost jobs. 
  • Recent amendments in India’s mining policies provide an attractive an opportunity for foreign investors interested in exploration, extraction, and processing through multiple avenues.
  • The Fourth Tranche of India’s Coronavirus Stimulus Programme “Atmanirbhar Bharat” of 2020, titled "New Horizons for Growth", gave a stimulus to multiple sectors integral to critical minerals: mining, solar panels, electric vehicles, IT, aviation equipment, and renewable energy. Investments in these sectors have been made easier and have been offered a range of incentives.
  • India’s flagship production promotion scheme, the Production Linked Incentive Scheme 2020, includes important downstream industries such as batteries, consumer electronics, automobiles, telecom etc. which have the ability to bolster domestic critical minerals production and processing.
  • India has been pushing for faster adoption of electric vehicles, which is a critical minerals intensive industry. To this end, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II) Scheme was established in 2020.
  • The Defence Procurement Procedure 2020 provides a thrust to indigenous manufacture and eases foreign investments in India’s defence sector. This provides a much needed boost to the downstream uses of critical minerals, and augurs well for the critical minerals ecosystem.
  • India’s Australia Economic Strategy 2020 provides key data and invites Australian firms with a focus and emerging sectors, one of which is mining and its related, equipment, technology and services sectors.

Cooperation and collaborations

Want to amend or contribute to this page?

Found an inaccuracy, out-of-date information, or want to add something you think is important to understanding critical minerals research collaborations between India and Australia?

Add your knowledge by contacting us and requesting a page update.

Research area tags