The Andhra Pradesh government signed a pact with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) on 12 August 2026 for detailed exploration of lithium and gallium in the Vempalle area of the Kadapa Basin. The agreement was signed between the state Department of Mines and Geology and CSIR-NGRI at the State Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. With 100 percent funding of about ₹140 crore from the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), the project aims to find if early geochemical traces can become a secure domestic source of two of India’s most import dependent critical minerals.
What Does the Andhra Pradesh-CSIR-NGRI Pact Cover?
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 12 August 2026 at the State Secretariat in Amaravati between CSIR-NGRI and the Andhra Pradesh Department of Mines and Geology. The state is led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who took charge for his fourth term on 12 June 2024 heading the Telugu Desam Party led National Democratic Alliance government, with Kollu Ravindra as Minister for Mines and Geology.
Under the pact, CSIR-NGRI will carry out detailed exploration in and around Vempalle in YSR Kadapa district. The work follows preliminary studies by NGRI in Thummalapalle and nearby areas that indicated presence of both minerals. Those early results estimated lithium concentrations up to 1,000 parts per million (ppm) and gallium concentrations up to 250 ppm. A value in ppm describes how many parts of the mineral are found in one million parts of rock or soil, which is an indicator of prospectivity, not a proven reserve. The new project will move from this indication to systematic mapping, sampling, drilling and resource assessment to establish whether the deposits have the volume and grade needed for economic mining.
The entire cost, estimated at about ₹140 crore, will be borne by NMET. Some reports place the figure at nearly ₹150 crore, which reflects the same NMET funded project with updated estimates at the time of signing.
Location: Why Vempalle in the Kadapa Basin?
The Kadapa Basin, also called the Cuddapah Basin, is one of India’s largest Proterozoic intracratonic basins, covering much of eastern Andhra Pradesh. It is made of sedimentary rocks that were deposited between about 1,600 and 500 million years ago and is known for rich mineral wealth. The basin is divided into sub basins, and the target area lies in the Papaghni sub basin in the southwestern part, where the Vempalle Formation occurs.
This formation is already famous for hosting India’s major carbonate hosted uranium deposits at Thummalapalle. The Tummalapalle uranium mine, commissioned in 2012 and operated by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy, is considered one of the largest uranium reserves in the world with reserves estimated at around 85,000 to 150,000 tonnes. The uranium is found in a phosphatic siliceous dolostone, and recent research has shown that the same host rocks may also contain value added byproducts such as vanadium, molybdenum and rare earth elements. It is this geology that prompted investigators to test the same belt for lithium and gallium.
Choosing Vempalle, adjacent to Thummalapalle, therefore builds on existing geological knowledge, drill data and infrastructure, while extending the search from uranium to frontier critical minerals.
Understanding the Key Institutions: CSIR-NGRI and NMET
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) is a premier geoscientific research organisation established in 1961 and located on Uppal Road, Hyderabad, Telangana. It is one of the 37 constituent laboratories of CSIR, which itself functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology. CSIR was formed in 1942 and is headquartered in New Delhi. NGRI’s mandate is research into the Earth’s interior and its processes, using geophysical tools such as seismology, gravity and magnetic studies, geochemistry and remote sensing. Its work includes mineral and groundwater exploration, hydrocarbon studies, earthquake hazard assessment and development of geophysical instruments.
For this project, NGRI brings expertise in lithogeochemical surveys, geophysical mapping and deep exploration techniques needed to trace low concentration elements like lithium and gallium housed in sedimentary and dolostone formations.
The funder, the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), is a statutory body created under Section 9C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. It was notified in 2015 through the National Mineral Exploration Trust Rules, 2015. Since a 2023 amendment to the MMDR Act, it has been renamed the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust (NMEDT), though it is still widely referred to as NMET. It is a non-profit trust under the Ministry of Mines. Its funds come from a levy equivalent to 2 percent of royalty paid by mining lease holders, which is credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and then released for exploration. The trust finances regional and detailed exploration projects that are high risk and typically not taken up by private firms. As of 2026, it has approved more than 800 projects with a total estimated cost of over ₹3,860 crore and completed more than 380 projects. Under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), the Centre has earmarked ₹5,600 crore to NMET for risk coverage of critical mineral exploration, and the Andhra Pradesh Kadapa project is directly funded under this mechanism.
The Andhra Pradesh Department of Mines and Geology, the state counterpart to the MoU, is the nodal agency for mineral administration, concession grants and revenue collection in the state, operating under the state government and in coordination with the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
Why Lithium and Gallium Matter for India
Lithium (Li) and gallium (Ga) are both included in India’s official list of 30 critical minerals notified in 2023 by the Ministry of Mines. Critical minerals are those that are economically vital but face high supply risk due to limited geological availability or concentrated production and processing.
| Mineral | Key Uses | Why It Is Strategic for India |
|---|---|---|
| Lithium | Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile phones and energy storage, as well as in glass, ceramics and pharmaceuticals | India has negligible domestic production and is 100 percent import dependent. Entire domestic demand for lithium-ion battery materials is met through imports, mainly from China which processes about 58 percent of global lithium. Demand is rising fast as India targets 30 percent EV penetration by 2030 and 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity. |
| Gallium | Semiconductors, gallium nitride (GaN) chips for radars, satellites, 5G and 6G systems, LEDs and photovoltaic cells | India does not produce primary gallium. Historically, plants such as HINDALCO at Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh and NALCO at Damanjodi, Odisha recovered gallium but the capacity was limited. Today India imports its requirement. Gallium is vital for the India Semiconductor Mission, defence electronics and high efficiency solar panels. China controls about 68 percent of gallium processing and imposed export controls on gallium and germanium in 2023, raising supply concerns. |
Both minerals are therefore at the heart of the global energy transition and the digital economy. Securing domestic sources would reduce India’s import bill, which exceeds ₹80,000 crore annually for critical minerals, and shield manufacturers from price volatility and geopolitical leverage.
Early concentrations of 1,000 ppm lithium would mean one kilogram of lithium per tonne of rock, while 250 ppm gallium is considered promising for sedimentary hosted occurrences. However, these are surface indications. Exploration proceeds in stages, from reconnaissance (G4) to preliminary (G3) to general (G2) and detailed (G1) levels. Only after drilling, chemical analysis, and feasibility studies can a resource be classified as a reserve that can be mined economically.
The National Push Behind the State Project
The Kadapa exploration is not a standalone move. It fits directly into the Centre’s National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 January 2025 and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The mission aims to build a resilient value chain for critical minerals, from exploration and mining to beneficiation, processing and recycling. It has an approved outlay of ₹34,300 crore over seven years from 2024-25 to 2030-31, comprising ₹16,300 crore of direct government expenditure and ₹18,000 crore of expected investment by Public Sector Undertakings and other stakeholders. The mission targets 1,200 domestic critical mineral exploration projects by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), along with acquisition of 50 overseas projects and 26 foreign mines by PSUs. It also envisions seven Centres of Excellence and the creation of 1,000 patents by 2030. A dedicated ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for recycling aims to recover minerals from e-waste, lithium-ion battery scrap and industrial tailings to build 270 kilo tonnes of annual recycling capacity. Policy support includes exemption of Basic Customs Duty on 25 critical minerals in the 2024-25 Union Budget, extended to more minerals in 2025-26, and a new Tailings Policy to extract gallium, tellurium and selenium from overburden dumps.
The Ministry of Mines identified 30 critical minerals in 2023 after a high powered committee assessment based on economic importance and supply risk. The list includes lithium, gallium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earth elements (REE) and others. Later, 24 of these were included in Part D of the First Schedule of the MMDR Act, 1957, giving the Centre power to auction them.
India’s vulnerability is high. For minerals including lithium, cobalt, nickel, vanadium, niobium, germanium, beryllium and tantalum, import dependence is 100 percent, while for graphite, zirconium and manganese it ranges from 50 to 80 percent. Between 2019 and 2024, China accounted for about 82 percent of India’s lithium imports and 76 percent of its silicon imports. The NCMM is designed to reduce this exposure while supporting India’s climate goals of reducing emissions intensity of GDP by 45 percent by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2070.
Andhra Pradesh is already active in this framework. The Geological Survey of India has taken up 159 mineral exploration projects in Andhra Pradesh between 2015-16 and 2024-25, and NMET has sanctioned 16 projects in the state for minerals including limestone and coal. The new lithium and gallium project is the first dedicated critical mineral detailed exploration of this scale in the Kadapa Basin.
Andhra Pradesh’s Wider Mining Strategy: A Second Pact with IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
On the same day, the Andhra Pradesh government signed a second MoU with IIT (ISM) Dhanbad-TEXMiN. IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, located in Jharkhand, was established as the Indian School of Mines in 1926 and is now an Indian Institute of Technology and an Institution of National Importance. TEXMiN stands for Technology Innovation in Exploration and Mining Foundation, a Technology Innovation Hub set up under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) of the Department of Science and Technology.
Under this agreement, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad will establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for mining in Andhra Pradesh. The centre will focus on research, adoption of advanced technologies such as drone based mapping, artificial intelligence based prospectivity modelling and automated exploration, and skill development for the state’s mining workforce. This complements the state’s recent moves to strengthen the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC), curb illegal mining and promote a mineral based industrial cluster in the state.
Significance and the Way Forward
For Andhra Pradesh, the pacts serve multiple goals. The state, which was bifurcated in 2014 to create Telangana, has been seeking to monetise its mineral wealth while attracting industry. Kadapa district already hosts cement grade limestone, barytes, asbestos and uranium. Adding lithium and gallium would diversify its mineral profile and support the state’s aim to be part of the clean energy and electronics supply chains, including the Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor and proposed semiconductor related investments.
For India, every domestic discovery directly improves resource security. Even if Kadapa yields only modest grades, establishing an indigenous resource base for lithium and gallium would reduce strategic dependence, support domestic battery cell manufacturing under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells, and strengthen bargaining power in overseas mineral partnerships such as the lithium brine blocks in Argentina’s Catamarca province that India’s Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) is exploring.
The next steps are technical and phased. CSIR-NGRI will undertake geological mapping, geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and scout drilling, followed by detailed drilling on a grid pattern to estimate tonnage. Results will be reviewed by the National Mineral Exploration Trust and, if positive, auctioned as a mineral block under the MMDR Act. GSI’s newer tools, including the National Aero-Geophysical Mapping Programme (NAGMP) and AI driven mineral prospectivity mapping, may also be deployed to speed up target identification. Only after a G2 or G1 level report can commercial mining be considered.
The exploration also carries environmental and social responsibilities. The Kadapa Basin area includes agricultural land, forest patches and existing uranium mining operations. Detailed exploration will require environmental clearances, community engagement and careful water management, particularly as lithium extraction can be water intensive if later developed.
Key Takeaways
- Andhra Pradesh signed an MoU with CSIR-NGRI on 12 August 2026 for detailed exploration of lithium and gallium in the Vempalle area of the Kadapa Basin.
- The MoU was signed between CSIR-NGRI and the Andhra Pradesh Department of Mines and Geology at the State Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
- Preliminary NGRI studies near Thummalapalle estimated lithium up to 1,000 ppm and gallium up to 250 ppm, which are prospectivity indications that require detailed drilling to prove.
- The project is funded 100 percent by the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) with an estimated cost of about ₹140 crore.
- CSIR-NGRI, established in 1961 at Hyderabad and a constituent lab of CSIR under the Ministry of Science and Technology, will lead the geophysical and geochemical exploration.
- NMET, a statutory body under Section 9C of the MMDR Act, 1957 funded by a 2 percent royalty levy, has approved more than 800 projects and is central to the National Critical Mineral Mission.
- The initiative aligns with the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) launched on 29 January 2025 with an outlay of ₹34,300 crore over 2024-25 to 2030-31 to secure 30 critical minerals including lithium and gallium.
- A second MoU with IIT (ISM) Dhanbad-TEXMiN will set up a Centre of Excellence for mining in Andhra Pradesh for research, technology adoption and skill development.
