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Q6 (IAS/2025) Economy › Economy Current Affairs › Energy and mineral policy Answer Verified

Consider the following statements : I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member. II. India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified. III. The Parliament in 2023 has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite license for certain critical minerals. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

India became the 14th member country in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) in June 2023[1], making Statement I correct. The Ministry of Mines released a list of 30 critical minerals in June 2023 based on inter-ministerial consultations and methodology capturing Economic Importance and Supply Risk[2]. However, Statement II is incorrect because these minerals face challenges due to current global natural resource endowments, incumbent global mining and processing industrial base, regulatory barriers, and protectionism[2], indicating India is not resource-rich in all 30 critical minerals. Statement III is correct as Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 on August 2 to attract private sector investment in exploration of critical minerals[3], and the 2023 amendment empowered the Central Government to exclusively auction critical and strategic mineral blocks[4]. Therefore, only statements I and III are correct.

Sources
  1. [1] https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2024/dec/doc20241227477501.pdf
  2. [2] https://mines.gov.in/admin/storage/ckeditor/24_pages__desktop_1752835254.pdf
  3. [3] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/explained-the-push-to-bring-the-private-sector-into-mineral-exploration/article67168185.ece
  4. [4] https://mines.gov.in/admin/download/685a862b2519d1750763051.pdf
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following statements : I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member. II. India is a resource-rich cou…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 10/10
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A classic 'Current Affairs applied to Static Syllabus' question. It bridges International Relations (MSP) with Domestic Legislation (MMDR Act). While books cover mineral belts, they fail on the 2023 legislative shift. The key was spotting the logical contradiction between 'Security Partnership' (implies scarcity) and 'Resource Rich in all' (implies abundance).

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Did India join the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) as a member?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"In June 2023, India became newest partner (14th member"
Why this source?
  • Explicitly states India became the newest partner and identifies it as the 14th member.
  • Directly ties India to MSP membership with a date (June 2023).
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"India became newest partner (14th member country) in MSP, to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable critical energy minerals supply chains globally"
Why this source?
  • Repeats the assertion that India became the newest MSP partner and labels it the 14th member country.
  • Context describes India agreeing to MSP principles and participating in MSP projects and meetings.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), which India became party to this year."
Why this source?
  • News source states India 'became party to' the Mineral Security Partnership, indicating membership.
  • Links MSP membership to India's objective of reducing reliance on other countries for critical minerals.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Foreign Relations > p. 795
Strength: 5/5
“reached out boldly to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with the idea of gaining politically and economically. In the long term, India, fighting the threat from cross-border terrorism, was bound to gain from the Gulf monarchies' growing opposition to Islamist terrorism. India joined the Australia Group, which aims to prevent proliferation of biological and chemical weapons, and will ensure a more secure world. With this, India had become a member of three of the four nuclear export control regimes. Earlier, India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) in 2017.”
Why relevant

Lists specific multilateral export‑control and security regimes that India joined (Australia Group, MTCR, Wassenaar), showing a pattern of India acceding to international security/technology groupings.

How to extend

A student could use this pattern to check whether India has recently acceded to other security/resource‑related initiatives (like MSP) by comparing dates and announcements of accession.

Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Important Facts > p. 523
Strength: 4/5
“International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) • Ø • Name: IBRD; Established in: 1945; Headquarters: Washington DC; Members: 189; Is India a Member?: Yes • Name: IDA; Established in: 1960; Headquarters: Washington DC; Members: 173; Is India a Member?: Yes • Name: IFC; Established in: 1956; Headquarters: Washington DC; Members: 184; Is India a Member?: Yes • Name: MIGA; Established in: 1988; Headquarters: Washington DC; Members: 181; Is India a Member?: Yes • Name: ICSID; Established in: 1966; Headquarters: Washington DC; Members: 161; Is India a Member?: Yes”
Why relevant

Shows India is routinely a member of many international economic/financial organisations (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, ICSID), indicating frequent participation in multilateral bodies.

How to extend

Use this general membership tendency as a basis to look up membership lists of newer partnerships (MSP) to see if India appears.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 7: Resources > Distribution of Minerals > p. 1
Strength: 4/5
“The mineral wealth of India is largely confined to the igneous and metamorphic rocks of Peninsular India, while the Great Plains of India and the Himalayan region are almost devoid of the metallic minerals. The states which are rich in the metallic and non-metallic minerals are Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, and Assam. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Gangetic West Bengal are, however, poor in mineral resources.”
Why relevant

Describes the distribution and significance of India's mineral wealth, implying India is a relevant actor for any international minerals‑security initiative.

How to extend

Combine this fact (India's mineral resources) with a world map or MSP membership list to assess whether India would have motive/standing to join MSP.

NCERT. (2022). Contemporary India II: Textbook in Geography for Class X (Revised ed.). NCERT. > Chapter 5: Print Culture and the Modern World > All living things need minerals > p. 107
Strength: 3/5
“Rat-Hole Mining. Do you know that most of the minerals in India are nationalised and their extraction is possible only after obtaining due permission from the government? But in most of the tribal areas of the north-east India, minerals are owned by individuals or communities. In Meghalaya, there are large deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone and dolomite etc. Coal mining in Jowai and Cherapunjee is done by family member in the form of a long narrow tunnel, known as 'Rat hole' mining. The National Green Tribunal has declared such activities illegal and recommended that these should be stopped forthwith.”
Why relevant

Discusses domestic mineral ownership and contentious mining practices (rat‑hole mining) and legal/regulatory control, highlighting governance issues related to minerals.

How to extend

A student could infer that domestic governance concerns might affect India's willingness or ability to join an international minerals‑security partnership and then check official MSP communications.

Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 13: International Organizations > Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) > p. 395
Strength: 3/5
“The fact is India earlier had lower import duties/tariffs, which Modi govt increased in 2014. If India commits to reduce some percentage tariffs from 2014 then still our tariffs will be relatively higher for the RCEP member countries and we could prevent access to our market)• For India, RCEP may not make much difference as it has FTAs with ASEAN, and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) with Japan & South Korea. India has the option to join the deal in future. But if it will not join the RCEP deal then it will face challenge in market access of these countries.”
Why relevant

Explains that India sometimes chooses not to join regional economic deals (RCEP) for strategic/economic reasons, showing India does not automatically join every multilateral agreement.

How to extend

Use this pattern of selective joining to justify checking authoritative MSP membership sources rather than assuming India is a member.

Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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