National Mineral Policy 2019 set for overhaul as Centre targets critical minerals and recycling

The central government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the National Mineral Policy 2019, setting up a nine-member panel to realign India’s regulatory architecture with strategic resource priorities, including critical minerals, recycling, and deep-sea exploration.

The review comes as India accelerates domestic industrial manufacturing and clean energy transitions, where access to strategic raw materials has become vital for long-term economic security. The Ministry of Mines has directed the committee, chaired by an Additional Secretary in the ministry, to review the existing framework and submit recommendations within two months of its constitution.

What the review will address

The panel will pinpoint provisions in the 2019 policy that require modification to reflect rapid domestic reforms and global supply chain changes. While the original framework focused on transparency and private investment, emerging industrial demands require a sharper focus on critical materials and circular economy practices.

Approved in 2019 by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the original policy was designed to bring greater transparency, curb illegal extraction, and foster sustainable practices while safeguarding tribal populations and project-affected communities. It also established measures to boost exploration, attract private capital, and improve ease of doing business across mining corridors.

Aligning policy with national growth

Recent legislative strides have laid the groundwork for this review. Parliament passed decisive amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and launched the National Critical Mineral Mission to secure domestic supplies of minerals like lithium, cobalt, and rare earths.

Industry leaders see the review as a timely consolidation of these governance reforms. Former Director General of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) B K Bhatia noted that updating the framework has become imperative given the strategic importance of critical minerals and the recasting of the MMDR Act. Bhatia said the revised policy should provide a forward-looking roadmap to unlock domestic mineral wealth, attract global investment and modern extraction technologies, and enhance the sector's contribution to national output.

Pankaj Satija, co-chair of the FICCI Mining Committee, observed that mining jurisdictions across the world have updated their strategies to shore up national resilience, domestic value addition, and sustainability. Satija said a fresh assessment of India's mineral policy will directly reinforce the country's progressive legal amendments and support responsible extraction.

With the committee scheduled to hand in its findings in two months, the revised framework is expected to give India's resource sector a clear regulatory blueprint to support long-term manufacturing growth and self-reliance.