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Vast mineral deposits in the Indian Ocean can make India self-sufficient in nickel and cobalt, a top official of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) said on Tuesday. Nickel and cobalt are critical ingredients in the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles, which are zero-emission automobiles. Praising the Indian government's efforts in this direction through its Deep Ocean Mission, Michael W Lodge, ISA's Secretary-General, also exuded confidence that India can become a global leader in deep sea mining. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of International Conference on Seabed Mining', held at the Gujarat National Law University in Gandhinagar. India was one of the very first pioneer investors in deep sea mining, starting from the 1980s. In recent years, there has been enormous progress. Under the Deep Ocean Mission, India's progress was phenomenal. India has the potential to become a global leader in deep sea mineral exploration and exploitation, said ...
The country needs a carefully crafted multi-dimensional mineral policy to address the issues posed by uneven distribution of rare earth elements, the Economic Survey on Tuesday said. Cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs) are critical for producing electric vehicles and batteries and harnessing solar power and wind energy. "While the demand for critical minerals is set to increase because of the global preference and emphasis towards renewable energy, the global supply chain of the critical minerals is highly concentrated and unevenly distributed. The skewed distribution of the resource poses a supply risk in the face of its enhanced demand. "A carefully crafted multi-dimensional mineral policy would reduce our dependence and address the problems for the future," the Economic Survey 2022-23 said. The country has resources of nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and heavy REEs, but further exploration would be required to evaluate the quantities of their reserves. Th