Four IITs among 7 institutes recognised as centres of excellence under National Critical Mineral Mission

New Delhi: The government on Friday said it has recognised seven esteemed institutes, including four IITs, as Centres of Excellence under the National Critical Mineral Mission. The move follows the nod accorded on Thursday by the Project Approval and Advisory Committee. The centres of excellence will undertake innovative and transformational research to strengthen and advance the country's science and technology capability in the area of critical minerals.

Critical raw materials form the crucial supply chain for emerging sectors of clean energy and mobility transition, in addition to advanced technology and strategic sectors like electronics, defence and space. The other institutes are IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, and IIT Roorkee, the mines ministry said in a statement.

Each CoE will operate as a consortium, on a hub-and-spoke model, to leverage R&D in critical minerals and pooling the core competence of each constituent under one umbrella. The Ministry had earlier called for proposals from eligible institutes, and had undertaken an elaborate two-tier evaluation and approval process.

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The National Critical Mineral Mission is a government initiative launched to enhance self-reliance in the critical minerals sector. It was approved by the Union Cabinet in January with a seven-year implementation period from 2024-25 to 2030-31. The mission aims to boost domestic production, reduce import dependence, and promote exploration and responsible sourcing of critical minerals.