BESET WITH CHALLENGES
Disruptions in the supply chain after the Covid crisis and now the unpredictable Russia-Ukraine war is posing major challenges to all countries in terms of recovering from multiple crises. One such area is meeting the climate change goals by reducing dependence on traditional fuels like petrol, diesel and shifting to cleaner energy technologies, which are the fuel of the future. In this respect, in order to reduce dependence on China, Russia, the world is forging alliances to meet their domestic shortcomings. India’s road to renewables and clean energy is beset with challenges emanating from the Russia Ukraine war, annexation of the Donbas region rich in lithium, the main ingredient of EV batteries, reducing dependence on its traditional supplier China and the paradigm shift in mineral policies of other nations. Recently, India’s exclusion from America’s Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) which includes Australia, Canada. France, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the UK and European Commission is a major setback for harnessing and nurturing the country’s mining engineering talent to address supply demand mismatch in these turbulent times. Critical minerals are the building blocks of modernday technologies; and from making mobile phones, computers, batteries, electric vehicles to greener technologies like solar panels and wind turbines, their presence is indispensable. Demand for nickel, cobalt, lithium and 17 other rare metals is likely to rise exponentially as it is limited to only two public sector undertakings — India Rare Earth Limited( IREL) and Kerala REC. India’s ambitious plan to transform itself into a clean energy hub by converting 80 per cent of the countries two and three wheeler, 40 per cent of buses and 30 to 70 per cent of cars to Electric Vehicles by 2030 can only be realised if we devise innovative ways to explore, produce and mine Cobalt, lithium, and 17 rare earth metals and diversify our supply chains. According to industry experts India will have to bring expertise in prestigious institutions and act quickly on the exploration and mining of critical minerals so as to reduce dependence on other countries.
— VIJAY SINGH ADHIKARI, NAINITAL via email