The Critical & Strategic Minerals Committee constituted by NITI Aayog held a national-level meeting on Monday at TEXMiN, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, to chart India’s strategy for securing critical and strategic minerals across the entire value chain.
Chaired by Prof DK Singh, the meeting was organised under the PAIR project of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad in collaboration with the CoRE-MiN Centre of Excellence on Critical Raw Materials (NCMM). Senior officials from NITI Aayog, central public sector undertakings (PSUs), premier research institutions, and industry representatives participated in discussions focused on technology development, domestic capability building, and strengthening supply-chain resilience for critical minerals.
Welcoming the participants, Prof Sukumar Mishra, Director, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, highlighted the institute’s growing role in research, technology development, and policy support related to critical and strategic minerals, key resources for India’s economic and technological ambitions.
Briefing the committee, Prof Dheeraj Kumar, Deputy Director, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and Project Director, TEXMiN, outlined several ongoing and proposed initiatives. These include the PAIR-B project supported by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, the Technology Translation Research Park (TTRP) established by the Department of Science and Technology, and the CoRE-MiN Centre of Excellence on Critical Raw Materials (NCMM) supported by the Ministry of Mines.
Setting the agenda, R Saravanabhavan, Deputy Adviser (Minerals), NITI Aayog, stressed the need for coordinated action among government, academia, R&D institutions and industry to develop indigenous technologies spanning mineral exploration, beneficiation, utilisation and recycling.
During the deliberations, Dr Ramanuj Narayan, Director, CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar, and Dr K Ramesha, Director, CSIR-CECRI, shared updates on advances in mineral processing, advanced materials and recycling technologies for critical and strategic minerals. Asheesh Kumar, Director (Business Development), Coal India Limited, highlighted the potential for recovering rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal mine waste, overburden, and fly ash.
The committee comprises representatives from NITI Aayog, CSIR-IMMT, CSIR-CECRI, Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries Company Limited, Neyveli Lignite Limited, the Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Coal, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, IPCPA, and Confederation of Indian Industry.
Faculty members from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad engaged in research on critical minerals, rare earth extraction, beneficiation, processing, and recycling also took part, enabling in-depth technical discussions.
The meeting underscored the strategic importance of critical and strategic minerals in India’s clean energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and national security, while reaffirming the need to strengthen domestic research, innovation, and technology capabilities to reduce import dependence and enhance long-term resource security.
