Which of the following statements about Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Critical Minerals is/are correct?
- 1.Modern technological innovations including Artificial Intelligence, robotics and space exploration extensively utilise Rare Earth Elements (REEs).
- 2.China has the highest share in mining of REEs followed by India.
- 3.The Government of India launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025 to establish a robust framework for self-reliance in the critical mineral sector.
- 4.Rare Earth Elements are a set of 13 metallic elements.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 are correct: REEs feed high-technology products such as magnets for EVs and wind turbines, and the National Critical Mineral Mission was launched in 2025. Statement 2 is wrong because China leads mining by a huge margin but India is far behind several other countries, and statement 4 is wrong because there are 17 rare earth elements, not 13.
- ✓ 1. Rare earth magnets are central to electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics and defence applications, and REEs such as dysprosium and neodymium go into wind-turbine magnets.
- ✗ 2. USGS shows China far ahead in 2025 mine production (270,000 tonnes REO), but India (2,900 tonnes) is well behind the United States (51,000), Australia, Burma and Thailand, so India is not second.
- ✓ 3. PIB records that the Government of India launched the NCMM in 2025 to build a robust framework for self-reliance in critical minerals (Cabinet approval was on 29 January 2025).
- ✗ 4. A Ministry of Mines/DAE reply in the Lok Sabha notes that REE has 17 elements, not 13.
Remember · There are 17 rare earth elements (15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium). NCMM was launched in 2025. China dominates mining; India is a minor producer.
Sources
- PIB: India’s Rare Earth Strategy: Manufacturing, Corridors, and Global Integration ↗ “With the consumption of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets expected to double by 2030 due to rapid growth in electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics, and defence applications”
- USGS: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rare Earths (world mine production) ↗ “China 270,000 270,000 44,000,000 Greenland — — 1,500,000 India 2,900 2,900”
- PIB: National Critical Mineral Mission (9 Apr 2025) ↗ “The Government of India launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025 to establish a robust framework for self-reliance in the critical mineral sector.”
- PIB: Lok Sabha reply on import of rare earth metals (2 Apr 2025) ↗ “Note:REE has 17 elements. HS codes 280530 and 2846 pertain to REE as a whole and not to a particular element.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·