(This article is authored by Alar)

Scientists from the Geological Survey of India discovered 5.9 million tonnes of lithium deposits while exploring the Salal-Hymana area of the Reazi district in the Jammu and Kashmir region. To put it simply, lithium is not a ferrous metal. Electrical batteries for EVs are typically made with lithium. Lithium deposits have never before been found in India, so this is an eventful discovery.

"Geological Survey of India for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir," the ministry of mines said on Thursday. The world is taking various measures to prevent global warming due to climate change and threatening issues, and this discovery will greatly aid in encouraging countries to switch for battery vehicles rather than petrol running vehicles.

"Out of these 51 mineral blocks, 5 blocks pertain to gold and other blocks pertain to commodities like potash, molybdenum, base metals etc. spread across 11 states of Jammu and Kashmir (UT), Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana," the ministry added.

The Geological Survey of India has planned 966 projects for the current fiscal year, 318 of which are mineral exploration projects and 12 of which are marine mineral exploration projects.The inkling is that if batteries, the most expensive part of the system, can be produced domestically, the final product can be sold at a lower price to the general public and the country can position itself to become an exporter to capitalise on rising global demand.

In 1851, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) was established to explore the country for coal deposits that could be used by the growing railway industry. Thereafter, it found numerous other valuable minerals in addition to coal. It has risen to prominence as an international geo-science resource. The organization's primary goal is to improve national geoscience data and mineral resource estimation. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to reduce India's carbon footprint to zero by 2070, prompting the government to announce incentives worth at least $3.4 billion to hasten the country's slow adoption of electric vehicles.