NITI Aayog Flags China’s Grip on Critical Minerals Supply

22 Sep 2025 CW Team

At the India Mining Summit 2025 in New Delhi, NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani raised concerns about the heavy concentration of the world’s critical mineral supply in China, warning that the issue has global implications.

Virmani noted that while critical minerals are found across the globe, nearly 80–90 per cent of metal processing and supply is controlled by China. “We would call that a monopoly,” he remarked, stressing the need to diversify global supply chains.

China’s position as the dominant producer of rare earth elements has triggered worldwide anxiety, particularly after it imposed export restrictions. Virmani said the challenge is not limited to India: “The whole world is scrambling to create new technologies. It benefits everybody except the monopolists.”

India has launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to boost domestic exploration, processing and recycling. Virmani also highlighted opportunities for collaboration with countries such as Peru and several African nations rich in untapped mineral reserves.

Responding to Taiwan’s interest in sourcing rare earths from India, Virmani cautioned that India is not a major producer except in specific resources such as iron ore and titanium-bearing monazite sands found in eastern states and Kerala.

He said renewed focus on rare earths would spur technological investigation and economic evaluation, ensuring India contributes to a competitive global supply chain.

Real Estate

31 Oct 2025

Birla Estates Tops Global GRESB 2025 Rankings

Birla Estates (BEPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Real Estate (formerly Century Textiles and Industries Limited), has been recognised as a Sector Leader in the 2025 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, securing top honours across multiple global and regional categories.Birla Estates’ Achievements in GRESB 2025:Global Sector Leader – ResidentialGlobal Sector Leader – Non-Listed ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Asia – ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Non-Listed – Asia – ResidentialThese distinctions reaffirm Birla Estates’ exceptional performance in Environmental, ..

Progota India Secures RDSO Clearance for Kavach 4.0

Concord Control Systems, one of India’s leading manufacturers of embedded electronic and critical system solutions, announced that its associate company, Progota India, has received Technical Prototype Clearance from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for Kavach 4.0, the latest version of Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.With this clearance, Progota has been formally approved to execute its ongoing trial order from South Central Railway, marking a key milestone in India’s railway modernization journey. The approval also establishes P..

MPS Interactive Systems Completes Full Acquisition of Liberate Group

MPS Interactive Systems (MPSi), a material subsidiary of MPS, has completed the acquisition of the remaining shareholding in the Liberate Group of Companies—comprising Liberate Learning, App-eLearn, and Liberate eLearning.With this transaction, MPSi now holds 100 per cent ownership of all entities within the Liberate Group, making them its wholly owned subsidiaries. The acquisition was executed in line with the valuation methodology defined in the original transaction documents.Commenting on the development, Rahul Arora, Chairman and CEO of MPS, said, “The corporate learning sector continu..