Finance Minister proposes to exempt customs duty on 25 critical minerals in Budget 2024

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her first Budget of Modi 3.0 proposes to fully exempt customs duty on 25 critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, rare earths, which are crucial for nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence and telecommunications among other sectors .

The minister said on July 23 the Budget also proposes to reduce ( Basic Customs Duty)  on two such minerals but did not name them. The move is expected to give a major major fillip to processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability.

Zero duty has been proposed for the following critical minerals include Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium , Cadmium, Silicon other than Quartz & Silicon Dioxide.

The centre also announced  setting up a critical mineral mission for domestic exploration, recycling of minerals and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets.

India has been actively pursuing international collaborations to enhance its critical minerals supply chain. Partnerships with countries such as Australia, known for its rich mineral resources, and participation in frameworks such as the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) are part of this strategy.

India is heavily dependent on imports for most of the critical minerals, with a few exceptions like Copper, Gallium, Graphite, Cadmium, Phosphorus, Potash, and Titanium.

As of December 2023, India had a 5–10 percent custom duty on critical minerals.