Council on Energy, Environment and Water Integrated | International | Independent
Critical Mineral Resources
Candidates pursuing Bachelor’s or Master’s degree courses offering specialisation in one of the following: Resource management/mineral economics/ international trade and commerce/ foreign policy/industrial process/manufacturing systems/material recovery/geology/mineral chemistry/advanced technologies, or similar domains.
Resource security and resource efficiency plays a crucial role in country’s economic development, as it is an important driver of a competitive manufacturing sector. Sudden supply shocks or constrictions in the supply chain make a mineral critical, especially if there are no substitutes available in specific applications. This impact is larger if these products contribute to significant value addition in the economy.
In 2016, The Council published a report titled "Critical Non-Fuel Mineral Resources for India's Manufacturing Sector: A Vision for 20301". The study, which began in late 2014, was funded by the Department of Science and Technology, and evaluates 49 minerals and their criticality (from 2011 to 2030) in terms of economic importance (value addition and consumption in all manufacturing sub- sectors) as well as supply risks (import dependence, geopolitical risks, substitutability, and recycling potential). It is the first-of-its-kind study undertaken in India and the most comprehensive effort to assess which minerals will be crucial for India's high-value-added manufacturing growth and the implications for India's resource security. The United States and the European Union have done some pioneering work on identifying critical minerals for their own economy. This report also draws attention towards strategic acquisition of overseas mines and need for high-priority trade ties for certain minerals, which are identified as critical for India’s future, through a scientific framework and a decision tree approach.
With India’s ever-growing interest towards indigenous manufacturing of modern day technology devices (smart phones, medical diagnostic equipment, etc.), and clear energy products (electric vehicles, solar panels); focus on mineral resource security becomes naturally crucial. This project aims to take forward the existing work on critical minerals to the next level of policy planning. The objective is to efficiently engage policy planners, industry, and other users from mining/mineral sector through a dynamic web-based interface. Outputs from this project will include an index of critical minerals, which will gets periodically revised as per realistic economic condition(s), and supply position of minerals in India. It will also allow users to generate customised scenarios based on futuristic policy outlook. It will act as an intelligent decision-making tool for the policy makers, industry captains, mining and mineral exploration agencies, and a wide pool of researchers.
We invite interested candidates to take up a challenging assignment, and assist us in achieving one (or more) of the below mentioned tasks:
There will be endless opportunities to learn and contribute across a wide range of research activities at The Council. The incumbent will be responsible for full range of research and associated duties as highlighted below:
Enrolled in (or completed) a Bachelor/Master’s degree with specialisation in industry-research/manufacturing systems/resource (minerals) management/international trade and economics/ or relevant streams.