Which of the following statements about Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Critical Minerals is/are correct?

1. Modern technological innovations including Artificial Intelligence, robotics and space exploration extensively utilise Rare Earth Elements (REEs).

2. China has the highest share in mining of REEs followed by India.

3. The Government of India launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025 to establish a robust framework for self-reliance in the critical mineral sector.

4. Rare Earth Elements are a set of 17 metallic elements (Note: text says 13 due to OCR distortion).

The correct answer is (c) 1, 3 and 4.Here is a detailed breakdown of why the statements evaluate this way:Statement 1 is correct: Modern high-tech industries, including robotics, aerospace/space exploration, and AI hardware (such as advanced semiconductors and permanent magnets for data storage), rely heavily on REEs due to their unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties. Statement 2 is incorrect: China dominates the global mining and processing of REEs by a massive margin. However, India is not the second-highest in mining production. According to data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), countries like the United States, Australia, Myanmar, and Thailand rank significantly higher than India in terms of annual REE mine production, despite India holding sizable raw reserves. Statement 3 is correct: To achieve self-reliance and build a resilient supply chain for green energy, high-tech, and defense applications, the Union Cabinet officially approved and launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) with an extensive financial outlay over a 7-year period. Statement 4 is correct: Rare Earth Elements structurally consist of exactly 17 metallic elements—the 15 lanthanides on the periodic table, plus scandium and yttrium. (The OCR distortion note accounts for typos in raw text scanning).