India’s President Droupadi Murmu stressed the urgent need for the country to achieve self-reliance in producing rare earth elements (REEs) during her speech at the National Geoscience Awards-2024 in New Delhi on Friday. She called REEs the foundation of modern technology and key to India’s growth and national security.
Speaking at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, Murmu highlighted how these minerals power everyday gadgets like smartphones and electric vehicles, as well as defense systems and clean energy solutions. “Given the current geopolitical situation, India must become self-reliant in their production,” she said. “This is crucial for achieving the goal of a developed India and ensuring national security.”
Murmu explained that REEs aren’t truly rare in supply—they’re tough to refine and make usable, which makes the process complex and expensive. She urged scientists to create homegrown technologies to handle this, calling it a big win for the nation’s interests.
The president also pushed geoscientists to innovate in tapping ocean resources, especially since India borders vast seas on three sides. These ocean floors hold valuable minerals, but extracting them must protect marine biodiversity. “We must develop technologies that can harness the resources beneath the seafloor for the nation’s benefit while minimizing damage to marine biodiversity,” she added.
Looking back at history, Murmu noted how minerals shaped human progress, from the Stone Age through industrialization. Today, mining drives economic development and jobs, but it brings serious downsides like displacing communities, deforestation, and polluting air and water.
She called on experts to tackle these issues head-on, focusing on geo-environmental sustainability and safe mine closures that shield people and wildlife. “Technology needs to be developed and deployed to add value to mineral products and minimize wastage,” Murmu said. “This is crucial for sustainable mineral development.”
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