It is the fuel that nature provided underground that took the Gulf countries to the peak of prosperity. There are those who predict that they will become obsolete when natural resources are exhausted. But that is not true. They have opened up huge possibilities of tourism and other things with the fuel money. The city of the future is in the making in Saudi Arabia. A large percentage of the world’s population will travel to see the $500 billion city. The lesson is that if the abundance of natural resources is used wisely, it will open up other economic possibilities that will last for centuries.
As much as petrol, diesel and fuels are needed for vehicles etc., in the coming days, vehicles will need lithium battery more than that. By the end of 2030, vehicles running on petrol and diesel will start leaving the Indian roads. Not only in India but it is going to happen all over the world. In this situation where the demand for lithium is increasing worldwide, the discovery of 59 lakh tonnes of lithium deposits in Reazi district of Jammu and Kashmir is a big event that should bring joy to every Indian. Earlier deposits of lithium were discovered in Karnataka but the level of deposits was very low. Finding massive lithium deposits is rare. That is what the Geological Survey Department has found in Jammu.
All the signs that there will be a boom in electric vehicles in the country in the coming years have already started to be seen. Even the number of electric buses is increasing day by day. In 2022, four times as many electric vehicles were launched as in 2021. Lithium is the main component in rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, solar panels, mobile phones, laptops, etc. Vehicles powered by lithium batteries do not pollute the environment. If the reserves found in Jammu are properly mined, India can make huge fortunes from lithium exports following its own consumption, just as the Gulf countries earn foreign exchange from petrol and the like. Lithium deposits are mainly found in countries like Chile, Australia and China. US carmaker Tesla has signed an agreement with China to buy lithium for three years. India currently imports lithium from countries like China, Japan and Vietnam. India is the second largest importer of lithium in the world. The United States is the largest importer of lithium. If the lithium deposits are mined, used for industrial purposes and exported, the prediction that India will become one of the world’s economic powers by the middle of this century will come true.