The government will establish four critical mineral parks, each dedicated to a single element, with lithium and nickel slated to be developed first, the Mines Secretary said. The initiative is designed to concentrate processing, refining and associated infrastructure for individual minerals in single locations to improve efficiency and encourage value addition. Four parks have been planned so they can host specialist facilities and downstream units tailored to the chemistry and processing needs of each specific mineral. Concentration of activities is expected to reduce logistical complexity and support industrial investment.

Locations were finalised earlier this year following a review meeting on April 22 with the state administrations of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha, a former mines secretary, Piyush Goyal, said. The four states were selected in part for their port access, which has been identified as critical for handling mineral supply chains and linking domestic processing with global markets. Placing parks near ports is intended to streamline imports of inputs and exports of processed materials, thereby shortening lead times and lowering transport costs.

The parks are backed by an allocation of Rs five billion (bn) under the NCMM. The Odisha park will be sited inside the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region at Paradip, the Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Satish Chandra Dubey, told Parliament. Details of corresponding sites in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have not yet been disclosed, leaving planning and site selection to the respective state governments and their agencies.

Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy outlined the division of responsibilities, indicating that state governments will handle planning while the Centre will provide full technical support. The arrangement is intended to marry local oversight and land acquisition capacity with central technical expertise to accelerate project roll-out and ensure standards. Officials view the parks as a strategic step towards securing supply chains and fostering domestic processing capacity for lithium and nickel.