Guidelines for Centres of Excellence under NCMM

On 17th April 2025, the Ministry of Mines issued detailed guidelines for establishing Centres of Excellence (CoEs) under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), aimed at boosting research and technology development in critical minerals.

Key Points

Focus Area: CoEs will spearhead R&D in extraction and beneficiation technologies for critical minerals vital to clean energy, mobility, electronics, defence, and space.
Higher TRL Goals: Research will be directed towards developing technologies that reach higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) for faster deployment.
End-to-End Systems Approach: Emphasis on integrating development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies in a systematic manner.
Institutional Participation: Reputed academic and R&D institutions, meeting specified eligibility, will be evaluated and designated as CoEs.
Cutting-edge Research: CoEs will encourage interdisciplinary and transformative research to strengthen national capabilities in the critical minerals domain.