What are critical minerals, the centerpiece of a new India-Australia

collaboration?
Australia commit A$5.8 million to the 3-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
Critical minerals are elements that are the building blocks of essential modern-day technologies, and are
at risk of supply chain disruptions. These minerals are now used everywhere from making mobile phones,
computers to batteries, electric vehicles and green technologies like solar panels and wind turbines.
They are critical as the world is fast shifting from a fossil fuel-intensive to a mineral-intensive energy system.
Use of Critical Minerals:
 India’s space and defence industries
o rare earths -for making magnets
 To lower emissions - Manufacture of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles
o graphite, lithium and cobalt - making EV batteries;
o silicon - for making computer chips and solar panels.
 Manufacturing of radio sets and other critical equipment.

Any supply shock can severely imperil the economy and strategic autonomy of a country over-dependent
on others to procure critical minerals.
These supply risks exist due to rare availability, growing demand and complex processing value chain.
fossil fuel-intensive----------------- EV Batteries, Solar Panels -------------Clean Energy Economy

China Factor
China is the world’s largest producer of 16 critical minerals.
 60% of global production of rare earth elements in 2019.
 The level of concentration is even higher for processing operations: 50-70% for lithium and cobalt,
and nearly 90% for rare earth elements.”
 China also controls cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from where 70% of this
mineral is sourced.
In 2010, China suspended rare earth exports to Japan for 2 months over a territorial dispute. The decision,
according to the Brookings Institution, made the market prices of RREs jump anywhere between 60% to
350%. The prices returned to normal only after a year of China resuming shipments.

What are countries around the world doing about it?

1. In 2021, the US ordered a review of vulnerabilities in its critical minerals supply chains. It has then
shifted its focus on expanding domestic mining, production, processing, and recycling of critical
minerals and materials.
2. India has set up KABIL - to “ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to the Indian
domestic market”.
3. UK in 2022,unveiled its new Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to study the future demand and
supply of these minerals. 
CCPA

The CCPA was established in July 2020 under The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to promote, protect, and enforce
the rights of consumers as a class, and to investigate, prosecute, and punish violators.
1. No levying of service charge. This is voluntary/optional.
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Co-location scam- NOTES
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PLASTIC BAN

 could account for 5-10% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

 India@ top 100 countries of single-use plastic waste generation
 India’s net generation of single-use plastic waste is 5.6 MMT, and per capita generation is 4 kg.
 Those found violating the ban can be penalised under the Environment Protection Act 1986 – which allows
for imprisonment up to 5 years, or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both

 Bangladesh became 1st country to ban thin plastic bags in 2002. New Zealand became latest country to
ban plastic bags in July 2019. China issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 with phased implementation.
 As of July 2019, 68 countries have plastic bag bans with varying degrees of enforcement.
Eight states in the US have banned single-use plastic bags

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AIF:
Apart from a minimum ticket size, there is no other specific structure that AIFs have to follow and hence in several
instances it could become difficult to know the ultimate beneficiary or client of a an AIF coming in via a foreign
jurisdiction.
AIFs cannot invest more than 10 per cent of their investible funds in any of their investee companies
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In the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2020, states have been categorized into four categories, namely
1. Top achievers,
2. Achievers
3. Aspires, and
4. Emerging business ecosystems.
 In this report, states have been categorized, as opposed to earlier practice of announcing ranks.
 The BRAP report comprises of 301 reform points, covering 15 business regulatory areas. like access to
Information, single window system, tax reforms, environment, and other reforms related to lifecycle of a
typical business.
 In it, sectoral reforms have been introduced for the first time. In it, 72 reforms were identified across 9
sectors viz., healthcare, trade licence, cinema halls, legal metrology, fire NOC, hospitality, movie shooting,
telecom, and tourism.
Background
‘Business Reforms Action Plan report is being released by DPIIT, since 2014 for steering business reforms,
in order to create investor-friendly ecosystem across India.
Negative:
Weightage given to different factors and basis behind it is not clear.
Broader Institutional Environment, plays a role in determining attractiveness of state as investment
destination. Like-
1. Day to day governance capacity
2. Law and order
3. Infrastructure
4. Logistics
5. Education and Healthcare systems
6. Climate of civic responsibility
BRAP and Institutional approach together can bridge the gap between states in terms of business
attractiveness.
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