Editorial 1: Tapping into Kazakhstan’s rare earths potential

Context

India’s over-reliance on China and possible global shifts after the U.S. regime change underscore the need for diversification.

 

Introduction

As the world accelerates its transition to cleaner energy through cutting-edge technology, the demand for rare earths has increased globally. India, the third-largest carbon emitter, is pivoting to renewable energy and faces a growing need for rare earths. Despite being the fifth-largest holder of rare earth elements, India relies heavily on China for imports as it lacks advanced technologies for extraction. Amid supply chain disruptions and security concerns tied to China’s dominance in this sector, New Delhi is diversifying its sources through agreements with the U.S., Latin American, and African countries to mitigate dependency on China. In this context, Kazakhstan emerges as a promising and strategically closer alternative.

 

China’s monopoly

• China's dominance in Rare Earths: China accounts for over one-third of the global rare earths’ possession and around 70% of its production.
  • India sources around 60% of its imports from Beijing.
  • This heavy reliance stems from India’s insufficient domestic production to meet the demands of critical sectors like electronics, defence, and clean energy.
• Risks of China’s control over supply: China’s past actions of disrupting critical technology and mineral supply due to bilateral issues raise concern.
  • China’s monopoly in global and Indian rare earth demand leverages its position to dictate supply chain terms.
• Recent disruptions in supply: China recently halted the supply of antimony, crucial for flame retardants, solar cells, batteries, and military gear, citing national security concerns.
  • A ban in December 2023 on critical technologies for extracting rare earths and producing magnets reinforces China’s control over the sector.
• Geopolitical impacts: Reduced ore supplies from Russia, mainly antimony concentrates, used in wind and solar energy production, have intensified China’s concerns as both the largest producer and consumer of rare earths.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed the risks of concentrated supply chains, resulting in India and Western nations seeking sustainable, diversified alternatives.

 

Why Kazakhstan is important

• Kazakhstan, a close ally of India, offers a viable alternative to meet India’s rare earth demands.
• Kazakhstan is among the richest sources of rare earths.
• New Delhi’s increasing engagement with Astana through the ‘Connect Central Asia’ policy and connectivity initiatives like the International North-South Transport Corridor could unlock significant economic benefitsfor both nations.

 

Kazakhstan’s Rare Earth Reserves

• Kazakhstan holds 15 of the 17 known rare earth elements.
• With advanced extraction technologies, Kazakhstan could challenge China’s dominance in the rare earth sector.
• Astana already has extraction agreements with Japan and Germany.
• The U.S., South Korea, and the European Union have recently joined exploration and production deals to tap Kazakhstan’s rare earth reserves.
• Kazakhstan’s extraction of rare earth elements like dysprosium is projected to grow significantly between 2024 and 2029.
• Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, recently highlighted rare earths as the "new oil" for the country’s economy.

 

Strategic and Emerging Minerals

• The country hosts one of the world’s three full-cycle beryllium and scandium factories, crucial for telecommunications.
• Kazakhstan is among the four global manufacturers of tantalum and niobium, essential for nuclear reactors and clean energy.
• Astana is expanding its role in rare earth and strategic mineral production with investments in tungsten, battery materials, and magnets.

 

Complementing India’s Efforts

• Kazakhstan’s vast mining potential in rare earth elements can complement India’s efforts in this sector.
• The Kazakh government is prioritizing advanced technologies and partnerships to strengthen its presence in emerging fields like lithium and heat-resistant alloys.
• Additionally, Kazakh metallurgical plants extract bismuth, antimony, selenium, and tellurium, and use imported technologies to produce gallium from alumina and indium from polymetallic ores, all of which are essential for renewable energy production.

 

The way forward

• India’s COP29 pledge aims to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, highlighting the importance of rare earth elements like dysprosium in advancing clean energy technologies.
• India lacks capacity across the rare earth supply chain, but plans a 400% increase in mining output over the next decade.
• India’s over-reliance on China for rare earths and possible global shifts following the U.S. regime change underscore the need for diversification.
• India-Kazakhstan collaboration can enhance India’s resource security, reduce dependence on China, and support sustainability by procuring rare earths through domestic extraction and import sources via partners in closer proximity.
• Apart from India’s direct connectivity challenges with Kazakhstan, there is a lack of necessary extraction technologies in both countries.

 

Conclusion

Nevertheless, the ‘India-Central Asia Rare Earths Forum’, proposed by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval during the second India-Central Asia Summit in Astana, aims to boost partnerships and private sector investment, potentially combating these challenges. It could facilitate bilateral training, joint mining ventures, shared geological data and expertise, sustainable extraction practices, and create a regional market to reduce reliance on China.

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Editorial 2: Pushed through

Context

Political expediency must not be allowed to drive mega projects.

 

Introduction

The Ken-Betwa River Interlinking Project, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to transfer water from the Ken basin to the Betwa basin to support agriculture and settlements. Despite its ₹44,605 crore budget, the project faces strong opposition over environmental concerns, legal violations, and questions of sustainability, raising doubts about its ecological and socio-political implications.

 

Ken-Betwa River Interlinking Project

• Flag-off by PM Narendra Modi: Flagging off work on the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project signalled that the national government is unbothered by the wide-ranging opposition to it.
• Budget: ₹44,605 crore.
• Scope: Draw supposedly “excess” water away from the Ken river basin.
  • Redirect water towards the Betwa river basin and thereon to farmland and human settlements.

 

Approval Amid Ongoing Deliberations

• When the Union Cabinet approved the project in 2021:
  • The National Green Tribunal was still deliberating a challenge to its green clearance.
  • This was typical of the state’s tendency to pardon businesses found in violation of environmental laws after they had made considerable investments.

• The government ignored critical comments from experts:
  • Including members of an empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court.
  • Bypassed due process.

 

Legal and Environmental Violations

• The law has strict terms for allowing hydroelectric power projects in ecologically sensitive areas:
  • The Daudhan Dam will be erected inside the Panna Tiger Reserve.
  • There is little evidence of such scrutiny.
• Work on the dam will:
  • Destroy lakhs of trees.
  • Destabilise fragile ecosystems.

• The government has refused to release hydrological data of the basins:
  • Claiming they are sensitive by virtue of being subsets of the international Ganga basin.

 

Sustainability Concerns: That a river interlink will water fields and quench thirst is irrefutable, but for how long?

• Various studies have asserted:
  • The Ken and the Betwa basins suffer floods and droughts together.
  • The subcontinent’s rainfall and sedimentation patterns stand to be altered.
  • The Betwa basin can be replenished more affordably by maintaining environmental flows and bolstering natural storage.

 

Government’s Principal Claim

• The Ken and the Betwa basins are respectively water-surplus and water-deficient.
• Experts highlight:
  • This is disingenuous as the Betwa basin is water-deficient strictly because it hosts several lakh hectares of irrigated cropland.
  • Should the demand in the Ken basin increase, both areas will suffer.

• Experts have suggested:
  • The project is a ploy to pacify the electorate in Bundelkhand.
  • Its approval months ahead of State polls in Uttar Pradesh also suggested this motive.
  • It aims to improve water supply to reservoirs in the lower Betwa thanks to other upstream blockades.

 

Way forward

• The project seems more the product of political expediency and self-image than current ecological sense.
• The more resources the government sinks into it:
  • The more unlikely changing or reversing course will become in the face of adverse developments.
• When adverse consequences come to pass:
  • The responsibility and costs of mitigating these consequences will fall to the people.
  • This includes consequences from other projects like the recently launched Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link.

 

Conclusion

The Ken-Betwa River Interlinking Project promises agricultural and water benefits but faces criticism for ecological damage, lack of transparency, and political motives. With fragile ecosystems at risk and sustainability questioned, the project's long-term viability remains uncertain. Balancing development with environmental preservation and addressing expert concerns is essential to ensure its success without jeopardizing future generations.

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