Content
- India’s Critical Mineral Mission
- Simplified GST for Growth of Indian Commerce and Trade
India’s Critical Mineral Mission:
Basics
- Launched: January 2025, for 7 years (2024–25 to 2030–31).
- Budgetary Expenditure: ₹16,300 crore.
- Expected PSU & stakeholder investment: ₹18,000 crore.
- Purpose: Not just mining → a strategic blueprint to ensure energy security, industrial growth, and technological independence.
- Global Context: As the world shifts to clean energy and high-tech industries, critical minerals = “new oil” / “new currency of progress”.
Relevance :
- GS 1 (Geography – Resources): Distribution of critical minerals in India & the world.
- GS III (Economy): Industrial policy, MSME & manufacturing growth, Atmanirbhar Bharat.
What are Critical Minerals?
- Minerals essential for economy & national security, with supply chain vulnerabilities.
- Used in: Clean energy technologies, electronics, transport, telecom, defence.
- India’s 2023 List (30 minerals): Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Graphite, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, etc.
- Identification varies country to country based on national priorities.
Why They Matter for India’s Energy Future
- Solar Energy: Silicon, Tellurium, Indium, Gallium → key for photovoltaic cells. (India’s solar capacity: 64 GW).
- Wind Power: Neodymium, Dysprosium → high-performance turbine magnets. (Target: 140 GW by 2030 from current 42 GW).
- Electric Vehicles: Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt → EV batteries. (Target: 30% EV penetration by 2030).
- Energy Storage: Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel → lithium-ion storage for renewable integration.
Legal & Policy Foundation
- Based on MMDR Act amendment, granting Centre exclusive power to auction 24 of 30 identified minerals.
- Framework covers: Exploration → Mining → Processing → Recycling → R&D → HR Development → Strategic Stockpiles.
Components of NCMM
- Domestic Exploration: 1,000+ projects to identify reserves within India.
- International Assets: PSUs & private firms encouraged to acquire stakes in foreign projects.
- Recycling Push:
- ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme (Cabinet approved).
- Target: 270 KT annual recycling capacity, 40 KT critical minerals output, ₹8,000 crore investments, 70,000 jobs.
- Unconventional Sources: Pilot projects (₹100 crore) to extract minerals from fly ash, red mud, mine tailings, overburden.
- Centres of Excellence (CoEs): 7 institutions (IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorkee, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, CSIR–IMMT Bhubaneswar, CSIR–NML Jamshedpur, NFTDC Hyderabad).
- Patents & Innovation:
- Target: 1,000 patents by 2030.
- Already filed (2025): 21 in May + 41 in June; 10 grants (May–June).
- Focus on advanced materials for batteries, semiconductors, defence tech.
Strategic Objectives
- Reduce import dependence.
- Secure long-term supplies of critical minerals for clean energy, EVs, defence.
- Build strategic reserves/stockpiles.
- Make India a global hub in mineral value chains.
- Attract investments + foster public-private collaboration.
Broader Significance
- Critical minerals = “oil of the 21st century” → scarce, strategic, contested.
- Vital for India’s climate goals:
- Cut emission intensity by 45% by 2030 (2005 levels).
- Source 50% power from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
- Achieve Net Zero by 2070.
- NCMM positions India at the centre of global clean-tech supply chains.
Conclusion
- NCMM is more than resource extraction; it is a geoeconomic strategy.
- Integrates supply security, innovation, sustainability, and global partnerships.
- If successful, India can move from a resource-dependent economy to a critical mineral powerhouse, shaping the industries of tomorrow.
Simplified GST for Growth of Indian Commerce and Trade
Basics
- 56th GST Council Meeting: Held on 3rd September 2025, chaired by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister.
- Objective: Simplify GST structure, reduce slabs, rationalize rates → promote affordability, MSME growth, export competitiveness.
- Approach:
- Move towards 2-slab GST system.
- Cut rates to 5% for essentials & MSME-heavy sectors.
- Correct structural distortions (esp. inverted duty structure in textiles).
Relevance :
- GS II (Polity & Governance): Federal fiscal relations, GST Council as constitutional body under Art. 279A.
- GS III (Economy): Indirect taxation reforms, ease of doing business, MSME competitiveness.
Why This Matters
- For Consumers: Cheaper essential goods (food, textiles, footwear, toys).
- For MSMEs: Reduced compliance + lower working capital costs.
- For Industry: Lower logistics/packaging/truck costs enhance competitiveness.
- For Exports: Price competitiveness in textiles, leather, handicrafts, processed foods.
- Macro Impact: Boost consumption → higher demand → stronger MSME sector → growth multiplier.
Sector-Wise Reforms
Leather & Footwear
- GST cut: 12% → 5% (chamois leather, composition leather, prepared hides/skins).
- Footwear ≤ ₹2500/pair → 5% GST.
- Job work on hides & leather → 12% → 5%.
- Impact: Boosts domestic demand, lowers costs for MSMEs, enhances export competitiveness.
Paper & Packaging (E-commerce backbone)
- Packing paper, cartons, trays → 12% → 5%.
- Commercial vehicles (trucks, vans) → 28% → 18%.
- Impact:
- Lower packaging/shipping costs for MSMEs & e-commerce.
- Reduced freight rates per tonne-km (trucks carry 65–70% of goods in India).
- Improves margins for MSMEs & global competitiveness of supply chains.
Wood Products (Sustainable alternatives)
- Rice husk board, bamboo flooring, bagasse board, gypsum/fibre boards → 12% → 5%.
- Also covers veneering sheets, barrels, tubs of wood.
- Impact: Encourages eco-friendly substitutes, supports MSME wood industry, improves competitiveness.
Handicrafts (Artisan economy)
- Idols (wood, stone, metals), handicraft candles, paintings, bags, terracotta, brass/copper artware → 12% → 5%.
- Impact: Enhances affordability, strengthens artisan livelihoods, boosts exports under cultural economy.
Commercial Goods Vehicles (Logistics backbone)
- GST on trucks/delivery vans → 28% → 18%.
- Impact:
- Reduces capital costs for operators.
- Cheaper transport of agri goods, FMCG, steel, cement, e-commerce.
- Cascading effect → reduced inflationary pressures.
Tractor Parts (Agri-linked manufacturing)
- GST on tyres, gears, hydraulic pumps, engines → 5%.
- Impact: Boosts tractor demand domestically + in exports, strengthens ancillary MSMEs, consolidates India’s role as tractor hub.
Food Processing (Agro-industry growth)
- Prepared/preserved vegetables, fruits, nuts → 12% → 5%.
- Impact:
- Encourages cold storage & value addition.
- Reduces wastage, improves farmer returns.
- Strengthens agri-export positioning.
Textiles (Major reform – IDS correction)
- Man-made fibres → 18% → 5%.
- Man-made yarns → 12% → 5%.
- Impact:
- Removes Inverted Duty Structure anomaly.
- Reduces cost distortions from fibre → yarn → fabric → garment.
- Boosts domestic demand + export competitiveness.
- Supports India’s ambition as global textile hub.
Toys & Sports Goods (Child-centric MSME sector)
- GST cut 12% → 5%.
- Impact: Affordable toys, supports MSME toy makers, reduces cheap imports from neighbors, strengthens “Vocal for Local”.
Broader Economic Significance
- MSME Boost: Lower compliance costs, reduced tax burden → growth multiplier for sector employing >11 crore people.
- Consumption Push: Affordable goods spur demand in domestic markets.
- Export Competitiveness: Textiles, leather, handicrafts gain price advantage globally.
- Logistics Cost Reduction: Cheaper freight improves efficiency of supply chains.
- Sustainability: Lower GST on eco-friendly boards & handicrafts encourages green manufacturing & cultural economy.
- Ease of Doing Business: Moves closer to simplified 2-slab GST system, lowering compliance burden.
Conclusion
- GST rationalisation of Sept 2025 = landmark simplification + demand stimulus.
- Reductions across leather, textiles, toys, food processing, handicrafts, packaging, trucks → directly benefit consumers, MSMEs, and exporters.
- Aligns with national priorities:
- Affordable goods for common man.
- Stronger MSME ecosystem.
- Global competitiveness in manufacturing.
- Inclusive & sustainable economic growth.
