Parliament Question: Critical and Strategic Mineral Blocks in Telangana

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4128 ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 CRITICAL AND STRATEGIC MINERAL BLOCKS IN TELANGANA

4128. DR. MALLU RAVI:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has offered critical and strategic mineral blocks in Telangana containing Titanium, Vanadium, Gallium and Aluminous Laterite under the recent tranches of mineral block auctions and if so, the details thereof along with the location, estimated mineral resources and present auction status of each such block;

(b) whether exploration has indicated the presence of any other critical minerals including Rare Earth Elements, Lithium or associated minerals in Telangana and if so, the details thereof, district-wise; and

(c) the steps proposed by the Government for expeditious exploration and operationalisation of such blocks and for promoting downstream critical-mineral processing and value-addition industries in Telangana? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY)

(a) & (b): The Geological Survey of India has established resources of titanium, vanadium, and aluminous laterite at various grades and cut-offs in the Govindpur Vanadium, Titanium and Aluminous Laterite Mineral Block and Parvathapur Vanadium, Titanium and Aluminous Laterite Mineral Block, both of which have been successfully auctioned by the Central Government. The details are enclosed at Annexure-I.

Further, GSI has established an Inferred Resource (G3) of 8.15 million tonnes

(alluvium) with an average Total Rare Earth Elements (TREE) grade of 746 ppm at a 500 ppm cut-off in Pata Gangaram, Bhadradri Kothagudem District, Telangana.

In addition, GSI has submitted three Geological Memoranda pertaining to critical mineral blocks associated with aluminous laterite (associated minerals - vanadium, scandium, and gallium) in Telangana to the Central Government for consideration for auction as Composite Licences. Of these, the Baswapur Titanium, Vanadium, Galliumand Aluminous Laterite Block, Vikarabad District, has been notified for auction under the 8th Tranche of critical mineral block auctions.

(c): The key measures undertaken to expedite mineral blocks operationalisation and promoting downstream critical-mineral processing and value-addition industries in

Telangana are as follows: i. The Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 have been amended to introduce intermediary timelines, automatic declaration of preferred bidder and automatic issuance of Letter of Intent (LoI), accountability for delays by bidders and State Governments, and incentives for early operationalisation.

ii. A dedicated Project Management Unit (PMU) has been established at Ministry of Mines for continuous monitoring of auctioned blocks. iii. Development of Unified Mining Portal (UMP) as a centralized digital platform for end-to-end tracking and monitoring of the mineral block lifecycle from auction to operationalisation.

iv. Monthly review meetings with State Governments are held under the chairmanship of the Secretary (Mines) to monitor the progress of auction and operationalisation of mineral blocks and resolve bottlenecks.

v. State-specific review meetings with concerned officials from mining, forest, environment, revenue departments and concerned bidders are convened under the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Union Minister of Mines and Secretary (Mines).

vi. Pre-Auction Committees have been constituted by major mineral States to resolve land scheduling issues before the auction process, facilitating more participation of bidders and faster operationalisation.

vii. State-level Coordination Committees under Chief Secretary have been constituted by the major mineral states to address the bottlenecks and fast-track the operationalization of auctioned mines. viii. The State Governments have been incentivized to accelerate the auction of major minerals blocks and expedite operationalization of mines through financial incentives under Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment

(SASCI) in FY 2025-26. ix. Legislative and policy reforms have been undertaken, including provision for inclusion of new minerals in existing mining leases, one-time area extension for Mining Lease (ML)/ Composite Licence (CL), and removal of restrictions on sale of minerals from captive mines to increase ease of doing business.

x. The Union Cabinet has approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) on 29 January, 2025 with an aim to secure a long-term sustainable supply of critical minerals and strengthen India’s critical mineral value chains encompassing all stages from mineral exploration and mining to beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.

*****Annexure 1 Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of LS US PQ no. 4128 for answer on 12.08.2026 regarding ‘Critical and Strategic Mineral Blocks in Telangana’ S. No. Mineral Block Name District CL/ML

Vanadium: 37.88 MT @ 0.35% V₂O₅ (500 ppm V cut-off).

Govindpur Vanadium

Titanium: 40.21 MT @ 4.5%

1.

Titanium and Aluminous Sangareddy CL TiO₂ (3% TiO₂ cut-off).

Laterite Mine Block

Aluminous Laterite: 67.03 MT @ 29.02% Al₂O₃

Vanadium: 15.26 MT @

0.404% V₂O₅ (cut-off >0.3% V₂O₅).

Parvathapur Vanadium Titanium: 45 MT @ 3.83% TiO₂

2.

Titanium and Aluminous Sangareddy CL (cut-off 3–5% TiO₂) and 6.3 MT Laterite Mine Block @ 5.49% TiO₂ (cut-off >5% TiO₂).

Aluminous Laterite: 87 MT @

29.23% Al₂O₃