WILL LITHIUM DISCOVERY be a game changer in India’s EV adoption story?

Bengaluru: Spain Minister of Economy Nadia Maria Calvino Santamaria on Saturday said G20 finance ministers should not “go back” on the language agreed by leaders in Bali Summit on the Ukraine crisis continuing over a year. At the last G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022, the declaration read: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine.” However, some member countries held “other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions”. —PTI

New Tea Auction Process To Begin In March In N India

The Geological Survey of India discovered 5.9 million tonnes of inferred lithium reserves in the Reasi district of the Jammu region of very high quality with an estimated concentration of 550 ppm (parts per million) as opposed to 220 ppm found elsewhere. With this discovery alone, India now has the fifth-largest lithium reserves in the world, marginally lower than China and just ahead of the US. Lithium is often referred to as ‘white gold’ due to the increasing value of lithium batteries in manufacturing items like phones, laptops, and electric vehicles.

WHY INFERRED?

The reserves found are called “inferred” as more levels of verification will be carried out to assess the grade and viability of the resource. A 1,600-tonne deposit was earlier found in Karnataka but was commercially unviable. GSI has taken up projects on lithium and associated elements discovery across India, this being the first success.

WHY IS IT A HUGE

DEAL?

Kolkata: The Bharat Auction model for tea, which is already functional in south India, will be introduced in north India from end of March, an official in the industry said on Saturday. The pilot project will be conducted on March one so that all the features get tested by the stakeholders, following which the Bharat Auction model will be introduced in Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri from March 22, 2023.

KalyanaSundaram said owing to the implementation of the new auction system, CTTA had postponed Sale 8 by a week, while Sales 9, 10 and 11 have been dropped. —PTI

‘CIVIL AVIATION SHOULD AIM FOR ‘UNDER-20’ RANKING’

The importance of lithium is being widely felt and this discovery has definitely put India on the global map. India till now was completely dependent on imports for this shiny gray metal. This discovery may likely help the Indian government deliver on a recent promise to increase the number of private electric cars by 30% before 2030. India imported ₹173 crore worth of lithium and ₹8,811 crore worth of lithium ions in 2021 and the requirements will only go up.

CHINA’S LION SHARE

Despite Latin America holding the world’s largest Lithium reserves China is the largest producer of Liion batteries with 73% of the global capacity, followed by the USA which is home to about 12% of global capacity. Six of the 10 biggest EV battery producers are based in China— one of them, CATL, makes three out of every ten EV batteries globally. While companies like Tesla and OneCharge are trying very hard to find US suppliers, China’s cost advantage seems unbeatable. China controls at least two-thirds of the world’s lithium processing capacity, and this ensures its stranglehold on the battery market for years to come.

HOW DOES CHINA PRODUCE SO CHEAPLY?

The simple answer to this question is cheap labour which it has in abundance followed by the cost advantage in green tech like solar panels of which it is the largest producer worldwide. China also has a definite cost advantage since it holds Lithium re -

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT LITHIUM?

Lithium is one of the lightest elements, and it has the strongest electrochemical potential of any element. This enables a lithium-based battery to pack a lot of energy storage in a small, light battery. As a result, lithium-ion batteries have become the battery of choice in many consumer electronics such as laptops and cell phones. Infact, the price of Lithium has shot up by 90% since COVID-19.

serves of its own and has seized the momentum in the market by signing preferential deals with lithium-rich nations and huge government investment in the complex steps between mining and manufacturing.

BUT THE CATCH IS…

While Lithium is a relatively abundant metal, viable reserves are rare and there’s an important piece missing between mining and manufacturing. Turning lithium ore into lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide needed for batteries is an expensive and complex process and factories have long gestation periods. Impact of lithium mining and refining also has a huge environmental impact.

India has initiated a battery production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme worth ₹18,100 crore for five years to set up battery cell manufacturing. The refining capability is still at a very nascent stage. China is way ahead and enjoys the first mover advantage. Also, the ecological effects of the mining activity need to be considered specifically in the wake of the Joshimath issue which reminded us about the need to respect the ecosensitivity of the Himalayas. The deposits are after all located at the foothills of the Vaishno hills which is a heavily populated and religiously important area.

OUR TAKE

For India to achieve its EV Vision 2030, it needs to work on securing its lithium reserves at the earliest as the race to be the “li-ion king” is intense and the pressure on the world’s scarce lithium reserves keeps mounting. It currently imports 95% of its requirements from China and Hong Kong and just the PLI scheme and duty exemptions are not enough, a partnership between the government and private sectors is required to have a firm footing on the global map.

New Delhi: India needs to strengthen its Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and overcome the shortage of technical personnel to get into the top 20 ranking of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Arun Kumar, Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Saturday. Kumar added that Indian civil aviation system was rapidly growing and in the next few years, airlines would be adding more aircraft. —ANI