NITI Aayog Committee on Critical Minerals holds a meeting with SCCL CMD Buddhaprakash Jyoti at Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday as Committee Chairman DK Singh (both centre) looks on. | Photo credit: By arrangement
HYDERABAD
The second meeting of the National Committee on Critical and Strategic Minerals constituted by NITI Aayog, held on Thursday, February 26, 2026 at Singareni Bhavan, said that cooperation, political support and accelerated exploration are essential to transform India into a self-sufficient country in the critical minerals sector.
At the meeting chaired by Dr. DK Singh, Former Scientist of Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Chairman and Managing Director of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), Dr. Buddhaprakash Jyoti, NITI Aayog committee member, said the committee formed to identify and develop critical mineral resources in the country will play a key role in the country.
He informed that the company is exploring the extraction of rare earth elements (REE) from the overburden and clays present in the coal seams of its surface mines. In addition, efforts have been made to recover valuable minerals from the fly ash and bottom fly ash generated at the Singareni thermal power plant.
Other committee members said critical minerals such as lithium, rare earth elements, cobalt and nickel are indispensable to industries including renewable energy, electric vehicles, electronics, defense and advanced manufacturing. While India had significant reserves of certain critical minerals, limited exploration and mining activities led to continued dependence on imports.
As demand is expected to increase substantially in the coming years, the Committee called for a coordinated national effort involving mining companies from both the public and private sectors. The meeting included detailed discussions on the current demand and supply scenario, exploration opportunities in various states, policy support mechanisms and the role of government agencies and mining organizations.
NITI Aayog Deputy Adviser (Minerals) R. Saravanabhavan informed that a time bound action will be initiated to finalize and submit the committee report. CMD of NLC India Ltd M. Prasanna Kumar attended virtually.
Published – 27 Feb 2026 0:40 AM IST
