Under Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDRA), 1957, Central Government increased the area limit (set for preventing cartelisation) for 24 critical minerals listed in part-D of First Schedule to MMDRA. 

• Area limit for Prospecting License (for exploring and proving mineral deposits) increased to 100 sq.km.
• Area limit for Mining Lease (for mineral extraction) increased to 50 sq.km. 

Critical Minerals

• Critical Minerals are those minerals which are essential for economic development and national security and whose lack of availability or their concentration in few geographical locations may lead to supply chain vulnerability and disruption.
• MMDRA empowers central government for auction of mining lease and composite license for 24 Critical Minerals including Cobalt, Vanadium, Beryllium, Tungsten etc.
• Government has conducted auctions for critical minerals located in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and J&K.

Significance of Critical Minerals

• Reducing carbon emissions: Essential for renewable energy technologies and electric mobility.
• National Security: Essential for critical defence equipment such as submarines, missiles, aircrafts, smart bombs etc. 
• Industrial Advancement: Applications in magnets, catalysts, metal alloys etc.

Challenges to India

• China led global supply chain; Concentration in few geographical regions and India’s import dependency, Lack of exploration and extraction etc.