Jammu and Kashmir: Major mineral discovery may make smartphones, electric vehicles cheaper in India

In the last few years, governments across the country have introduced numerous schemes to push adoption of EVs in India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam also announced several tax benefits to keep the prices of electric vehicles low. Now, EVs in India will soon get another major push as 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves have been discovered in India for the first time. For those who do not know, .Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and it is one of the key components for batteries used in electric vehicles. As of now, India imports many vital minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. With the latest discovery of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir state, battery and EV manufacturers won’t have to rely on imports.

The local lithium reserve will help to bring down the price of batteries in the country, which will further help to reduce the price of EVs. Upon exploration by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), lithium reserves have been found in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

“In order to become self-reliant, it is very important for the country to find out critical minerals and also process them, " Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on the discovery of lithium reserves

Not only just electric vehicles, the locally found lithium will also aid the smartphone manufacturing in the country. Most modern-day smartphones are powered by lithium-ion batteries. The reduced price of lithium can significantly help to boost the production and reduce the costs of smartphones in India.