HYDERABAD: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said the central government is actively encouraging private companies to mine and explore critical minerals overseas and bring them back into the country to serve the needs of the domestic industry.

"We are encouraging private companies to mine and explore critical minerals overseas. We are for Indian private companies mining overseas and bringing minerals back into India. We are actively encouraging them," Reddy told reporters here.

The Union Cabinet in January 2025 approved the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) with an expenditure of Rs 16,300 crore and an expected investment of Rs 18,000 crore by Public Sector Undertakings.

"Through the national critical mineral mission, our government will ensure explorations in the coming days, mining, supporting private exploration companies. India has only a small amount of critical minerals in terms of availability. The Prime Minister is actively looking at critical mineral collaboration wherever he goes overseas. He does MoUs wherever he goes," the Union Coal and Mines Minister said.

"We are exploring all small critical mineral blocks in India, and for that we have sanctioned Rs 32,000 crore recently. My ministry is committed to work on critical minerals on a mission mode," he said.

Early this April, China had announced a decision to implement export controls on certain rare earth related items, pushing supply shortage across the world, including India.

As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, and recognizing the indispensable role of critical minerals in high-tech industries, clean energy, and defense, the Government of India has undertaken several initiatives over the past two years to address challenges in the critical minerals sector.

The Finance Minister announced the setting up of the Critical Mineral Mission in the Union Budget for 2024-25 on July 23, 2024.

The National Critical Mineral Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet, will encompass all stages of the value chain, including mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.

The mission will intensify the exploration of critical minerals within the country and in its offshore areas. It aims to create a fast track regulatory approval process for critical mineral mining projects. Additionally, the mission will offer financial incentives for critical mineral exploration and promote the recovery of these minerals from overburden and tailings.

Meanwhile, India is in touch with the Chinese side, seeking predictability in the supply of rare earth metals which had been put under the export controls regime by the Xi administration.

China's overwhelming control of global rare earth processing commanding over 90 per cent of the world's magnet production capacity has created significant vulnerabilities for industries worldwide. These materials are critical across multiple sectors, including automobiles, home appliances, and clean energy systems.

Beyond China, there are only a few alternative suppliers of critical mineral.