@Evening: India Finds Even More Lithium; New Rajasthan Reserves Surpass J&K Find

👌 New finds great for India's future

India just got even more lithium-rich, and that matters greatly.

Context: After Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, lithium reserves have now been found in Degana municipality of Nagaur district, Rajasthan.

• The Nagaur discovery has been reportedly confirmed by Rajasthan government officials and the Geological Survey of India.

• In February, the Centre had announced that lithium reserves were found for the first time in the country, in Jammu and Kashmir.

• The 5.9-million-tonne lithium inferred resources are in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir.

• It was unearthed by the Geological Survey of India during a preliminary exploration (G3) stage.

New Rajasthan reserves. The newly discovered reserves of lithium in the west Indian state are said to have a capacity surpassing the estimated 5.9 million tonnes of the metal found in J&K.

• Notably, it is reported that the lithium reserves found in Rajasthan can meet 80 per cent of India's total demand, thereby substantially reducing the country's reliance on China.

India's lithium situation and potential. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal used to make rechargeable batteries for smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles.

• At present, India relies heavily on foreign imports, specifically from China, for its lithium requirements.

• In the year 2020-21 alone, India imported lithium worth Rs 6,000 crore, of which China supplied Rs 3,500 crore worth.

• India is likely to have 13.92 lakh EVs on the road by 2030, for which lithium is essential.

• Lithium-ion batteries for EVs can be recycled indefinitely since the extracted lithium is reused continuously in new battery packs.

• India's lithium finds provide a major boost to the country's push towards EVs and other clean energy technologies.

Going global, too. By 2027-28, the world will produce 3,000 GWH batteries, according to estimates.

• India's new lithium reserves can make it a significant player in the worldwide supply chain, besides fulfilling its domestic demand.

• Chile has around 48 per cent of the total lithium reserves in the world, contained mostly in the Salar de Atacama, a large salt flat located in the north of the country.

• Lithium-rich Chile is open to sharing its knowhow with India, a report revealed early last month.

🎧 Hear it on Swarajya: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on the Karnataka election

In an exclusive interview to Swarajya and Bharatvaarta, BJP MP for Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya, spoke on multiple issues surrounding the election in Karnataka due to be held on 10 May.

• Give the audiobook a listen as Surya talks about voter turnout and political engagement in Bengaluru, growth of the city and the infrastructure mess, anti-incumbency in the state, the BJP's real agenda, PM Modi’s influence on the BJP campaign, and highlights from the BJP manifesto, among many other topics.

• Surya is in conversation with Roshan Cariappa, the co-founder of the Bharatvaarta podcast.

Download the all-new Swarajya app and listen in.