India’s Access to Clean Energy is Dependent on Lithium

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) made the first-ever discovery of a 5.9 million tonne lithium Reserve in the Reasi area of Jammu and Kashmir and it’s regarded as the nation’s first lithium reserve. In the past, a lithium reserve of 1600 tonnes was discovered in Karnataka, but sadly, it was not economically viable. The paper will focus on how lithium can support India’s goal of developing clean energy economy, its long-term effects, and how the US will profit from the strategic partnership and its future course. In the field of renewable energy, lithium has been hailed as a major contributor, especially in the creation of electric battery vehicles (EVs). Bureau of Energy Resources Assistant Secretary Mr. Geoffrey R. Pyatt of the US Department of State in his trip to New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune between February 13 and 17, 2023, displayed a swift response to the discovery of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir. But Lithium wastes from Reasi mining operations that is discharged into Chenab, could harm its ecosystem and water quality severely. This could therefore have ramifications on local residents’ health and well-being as well as the agricultural and industrial operations that rely on the river. The nation’s initiative to augment its production of lithium and to become an eminent player in the global lithium market has the potentiality to dispense prominent environmental and economic welfare for its home and the entire world.