Powering the Future: Telangana's New Critical Mineral Hubs

In a major boost to Telangana’s scientific and industrial ecosystem, the Union Ministry of Mines has approved two Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for critical minerals research at IIT-Hyderabad and the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC).

These CoEs are part of the ₹16,300 crore National Critical Mineral Mission, launched in January to reduce India’s import dependence and ensure a stable supply of essential raw materials for clean energy, defence, electronics, and space sectors. An additional ₹18,000 crore will be mobilised from public sector undertakings to support the mission.

A total of seven CoEs will be established nationwide—four at IITs (Hyderabad, Bombay, Dhanbad, Roorkee) and three at premier research institutions (CSIR-IMMT, CSIR-NML, and NFTDC).

The government will allocate ₹500 crore toward focused R&D efforts and another ₹500 crore to develop skilled human resources in the sector.

IIT-Hyderabad has also signed an MoU with Coal India to establish CLEANZ, a centre focused on sustainable energy research. NFTDC is spearheading work on advanced compact electronics, rare-earth magnets, novel magnetometry techniques, and alternative magnet technologies critical for electric vehicles and other high-tech industries.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.