Union Cabinet approves National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) with ₹16,300 crore expenditure and ₹18,000 crore expected investment.

Exam-focused facts from the 14 April 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Union Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) with an expenditure of ₹16,300 crore and an expected investment of ₹18,000 crore by public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other stakeholders.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the mission in the Union Budget 2024-25.
The NCMM will cover exploration, mining, processing, and recycling stages of the value chain.
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has 195 ongoing exploration projects in FY 2024-25 and plans 227 projects for FY 2025-26.
Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) has acquired 15,703 hectares in Argentina’s Catamarca province for lithium exploration and mining.
The government removed customs duties on most critical minerals in the Union Budget 2024-25.