SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Jan 13: A NITI Aayog committee on Tuesday held a national-level meeting on Critical and Strategic Minerals at TEXMiN, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, focusing on strengthening India’s domestic capabilities in this strategically important sector.
The meeting was chaired by Prof. D.K. Singh and organised under the PAIR project of IIT (ISM) and the CoRE-MiN Centre of Excellence on Critical Raw Materials (NCMM).
IIT ISM Highlights Role in Critical Minerals Research
Welcoming the participants, IIT (ISM) Director Prof. Sukumar Mishra highlighted the institute’s contribution to research, technology development, and policy support in the area of critical and strategic minerals.
Briefing the committee, Prof. Dheeraj Kumar, Deputy Director of IIT (ISM) and Project Director of TEXMiN, outlined key ongoing and planned initiatives, including the PAIR-B project, supported by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).
Call for Coordinated National Effort
Setting the agenda, R. Saravanabhavan, Deputy Adviser (Minerals), NITI Aayog, stressed the need for close coordination between government, academia, R&D institutions, and industry.
He emphasised the importance of developing indigenous technologies covering the entire value chain—from exploration and beneficiation to utilisation and recycling of critical minerals.
CSIR, Coal India Share Research Updates
At the meeting, Dr. Ramanuj Narayan, Director of CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar, and Dr. K. Ramesha, Director of CSIR-CECRI, presented updates on research in mineral processing, advanced materials, and recycling of critical and strategic minerals.
Asheesh Kumar, Director (Business Development), Coal India Limited (CIL), highlighted opportunities for recovering rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal mine waste, overburden, and fly ash.
The committee included representatives from NITI Aayog, CSIR-IMMT, CSIR-CECRI, Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries Company Limited, Neyveli Lignite Limited, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Coal, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, IPCPA, and CII.
Discussions focused on technology development, domestic capability building, and supply-chain resilience.
Faculty members from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad working in areas such as critical minerals, rare earth extraction, beneficiation, processing, and recycling also participated, enabling in-depth technical deliberations.
Strategic Importance Highlighted
The meeting underscored the strategic role of critical minerals in India’s clean energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and national security, while emphasising the need to strengthen domestic research and technology ecosystems.
