Crucial element for election cars...
First discovery of reserves of lithium has announced in India, which is a rare element crucial for electric vehicles manufacturing.
On Thursday the government announced that 5.9m tonnes of the element in Jammu and Kashmir had been found.
So far, for lithium imports India has depended on Australia and Argentina.
Lithium is a key component in rechargeable batteries.
It is a key component in rechargeable batteries that power numerous gadgets like smartphones and laptops, as well as electric cars.
According to experts the discovery could increase India's current number of private electric cars by 30% till 2030, to deal with global warming.
However, in southern Kerala much smaller deposits of lithium were found in 2021.
The government had said that it was finding way to improve its supply of rare metals needed to enhance new technologies and was in search for sources in India and abroad.
The largest in the world which are estimated at 21m tonnes, in 2023, China signed a $1bn (£807m) deal to improve Bolivia's vast lithium reserves.
To fulfil global climate target till 2050 mining of crucial minerals will need to increase upto 500% according to the World Bank.
Although the process of extracting lithium is not environment friendly, according to the experts.
In Australia, Argentina and China, lithium is extracted underground brine reservoirs and from hard rock found there.
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