Consider the following statements: [World Geography]

I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member.

II. India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified.

III. The Parliament in 2023 has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite license for certain critical minerals.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

The correct option is I and III only.

Let us analyze each statement step-by-step to understand why they are correct or incorrect:

Statement I is correct:
India officially joined the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) in June 2023. The MSP is a strategic collaboration of countries initiated by the United States to secure supply chains of critical energy minerals. By joining as a member, India aims to bolster its public and private sector investments in critical mineral supply chains globally.

Statement II is incorrect:
While India has identified 30 critical minerals essential for its economic growth and technological development (including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements), it is not resource-rich in all of them. In fact, India suffers from high import dependency for several critical minerals (such as 100% dependency for lithium, cobalt, and nickel) and relies heavily on international trade to satisfy its domestic demand.

Statement III is correct:
In 2023, the Parliament amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957. This amendment empowered the Central Government to exclusively auction mining leases and composite licenses for certain critical minerals (like lithium, gold, silver, copper, and others), allowing the Union government to fast-track auctions and ensure strategic management of these key resources.

Therefore, statements I and III are correct, while statement II is incorrect, making "I and III only" the correct answer.