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?

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Gives a concrete count of minerals India produces (about 95), providing a scale for what a subset of ‘30’ would mean.

A student could compare the claimed 30 to the total ~95 to judge plausibility and then look for official lists naming which subset are deemed 'critical'.

States that there is 'no well defined government policy' about prospecting, extraction and processing of minerals, implying historical uncertainty in official classifications.

One could use this to hypothesize that an explicit official 'critical minerals' list would mark a policy shift, so a student should check recent government notifications or policy documents for such a list.

Provides a clear definition of a mineral and emphasizes the chapter's focus on availability and classification of minerals, indicating official textbooks categorize minerals systematically.

A student could use standard classifications in official sources as a baseline, then search for an added 'critical' category in recent government or institutional publications.

Describes geographic concentration and belt-based grouping of major minerals, showing how minerals are classified by occurrence and importance.

A student might extend this by checking whether a 'critical minerals' list uses similar geographic or strategic criteria, and then map any named critical minerals against these belts.

Gives recent aggregate economic values for mineral production, suggesting that economic importance is tracked and could be a basis for labeling certain minerals as 'critical.'

A student could look for government criteria (e.g., economic value, strategic use) used to define 'critical' minerals and see if about 30 minerals meet those criteria.

States that mineral wealth is largely confined to Peninsular India while the Great Plains and Himalaya are almost devoid of metallic minerals — showing uneven spatial distribution.

A student could compare a map of the 30 critical minerals' known occurrences with physiographic regions to judge whether all 30 are likely present across India.

Explains that peninsular rocks contain most reserves of coal, metallic minerals and many non‑metallic minerals, and that alluvial plains are almost devoid of economic minerals.

Use basic geological maps (peninsular vs alluvial areas) to infer which critical minerals (often tied to specific rock types) are more or less likely to occur in India.

Gives a numeric scope: India is a producer of about 95 minerals across categories (metallic, non‑metallic, fuel, atomic).

Compare the list of 95 produced minerals with the list of 30 critical minerals to estimate overlap and identify which critical minerals might be absent.

States India is endowed with a rich variety of mineral resources tied to varied geological structure — implying presence of many but not necessarily all mineral types.

Combine this general rule with a global list of which geological formations host each critical mineral to assess plausibility of all 30 being present.

Lists specific minerals abundant in Peninsular India (iron, manganese, copper, bauxite, chromium, mica, etc.), giving examples of what India is rich in.

Cross‑reference these known abundant minerals against the 30 critical minerals to see which critical ones are already clearly present and which are not mentioned.

States grant mineral concessions under the MMDR Act 1957 and special provisions (e.g., Coal Mines Act 2015) have been separately enacted, indicating the Act is a living framework that has been adjusted by later legislation.

A student could check legislative records (Gazette/Parliament proceedings) for further amendments or related Acts in 2023 to see if MMDR itself was amended that year.

The snippet notes specific provisions (special courts, central intervention timelines, creation of District Mineral Foundation) showing the Act has been subject to substantive provisions and procedural changes — a pattern of amendment/adjustment.

Use this pattern to look up whether any of these provisions were newly inserted or modified in 2023 via amendment notifications or the MMDR Act amendment history.

The National Mineral Policy 2019 introduced new objectives and policy changes for mining, suggesting an ongoing policy-legal evolution in the sector after 2019 that could prompt amendments to MMDR.

Cross-reference policy changes from 2019 onward with amendment bills or official releases in 2023 to judge if MMDR was amended to implement policy goals.

Discussion of nationalisation and legal control over mineral extraction, along with NGT rulings (rat-hole mining), shows active regulatory/legal responses to mining issues — a context in which Parliament may enact amendments.

A student could examine whether judicial directions or NGT orders around 2022–2023 led to a parliamentary amendment of MMDR in 2023.

Says mining leases are granted by respective State Governments through auctions by competitive bidding under recent amendments to the MMDR Act — establishes that auctioning of leases is normally a state-level function under the Act.

A student could check whether the 2023 amendment altered this allocation by centralising the auction power for particular minerals (i.e., compare pre- and post-2023 wording about which authority grants leases).

Notes that State Governments grant mineral concessions/rights under the MMDR Act but must take prior permission of the Central Government — indicates an existing central oversight role without full transfer of grant authority.

A student might use this to ask whether the 2023 amendment moved beyond 'prior permission' to give exclusive auctioning authority to the Centre for certain minerals (so check amendment text for scope of central powers).

States that the Central Government has been given powers to intervene where state governments do not pass orders within prescribed timelines — shows a precedent for central intervention in state mining matters.

A student could reasonably infer that similar intervention powers might be expanded by amendment to allow central auctioning in specified cases, and should therefore verify whether the 2023 amendment explicitly creates such a special central power.

Mentions policy reforms including a 'seamless composite exploration-cum-mining-cum production regime' — signals movement toward unified/composite licensing models in recent reforms.

A student could test whether the 2023 amendment implements centralised auctions specifically for 'composite licences' by checking if the amendment defines/allocates authority for composite licences to the Centre.