IIT Hyderabad and Mahindra University Collaborate on Critical Minerals, AI in Mining, and Start-up Incubation

• Collaboration to advance research, education, and innovation in Critical Minerals, Mining technologies, and Sustainable industrial processes
• Mahindra University to serve as a SPOKE Institute for IIT Hyderabad’s Centre of Excellence in Critical Minerals
• Focus on Mining 4.0, AI-driven Mining, Autonomous Systems, and Start-up incubation aligned with national priorities

Mahindra University and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) have entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a long-term partnership in research, education, training, and innovation, with a strong emphasis on Critical Minerals, Sustainable Mining, and Advanced industrial processes.

The collaboration aims to strengthen India’s capabilities in Critical Mineral exploration and processing—an area of growing national importance—by combining Mahindra University’s interdisciplinary academic approach with IIT Hyderabad’s strong research ecosystem. The partnership will span frontier domains including Iron ore beneficiation, Coal and mineral processing, Ironmaking and Steelmaking, Mining waste utilisation for infrastructure, extraction of Critical and Rare Earth Minerals, and Process modelling and simulation.

Beyond conventional mining research, the MoU also covers emerging areas such as AI and data analytics in Mining, Mining 4.0, Autonomous systems including Drones and Self-driving vehicles, and Incubation support for Start-ups and Innovators. These efforts are designed to translate advanced research into scalable technologies and skilled human capital for India’s Mineral and Manufacturing sectors.

Under the agreement, Mahindra University will function as a SPOKE institute for a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at IIT Hyderabad, enabling structured collaboration between faculty, researchers, and students of both institutions. The engagement will be operationalised through joint research projects, faculty and student exchanges, and shared access to laboratories and academic infrastructure.

The Ministry of Mines, GoI, has recognized 7 institutes – 4 IITs and 3 R&D Labs – as Centres of Excellence (CoE) under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) and IIT Hyderabad is one among the 4 IITs. The recognition of CoEs is an important step for fulfilling a key objective of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), which is research and technology development in Critical Minerals.

Speaking on the partnership, Dr. Yajulu Medury, Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University, said that the collaboration directly addresses national priorities related to India’s Critical Mineral mission and promotes sustainable, indigenous technological solutions through research-led education.

Prof. B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, noted that India’s transition towards self-reliance in Critical Minerals and resource-efficient industrial processes requires sustained academic collaboration. He said the partnership would expand IITH’s research and training ecosystem, enabling multidisciplinary engagement and the translation of scientific knowledge into real-world technologies and skilled manpower.

The MoU places strong emphasis on capacity building and skill development, with planned initiatives including specialised training programmes for Mining professionals, elective and certificate courses in the Critical Minerals sector, a proposed master’s programme in Minerals and Coal processing, and short-duration programmes for working professionals. The collaboration also envisages seed support and incubation for Start-ups and MSMEs, along with engagement with venture capital firms to support commercialisation of research outcomes.

Designed as a long-term engagement governed by the academic frameworks of both institutions, the partnership seeks to advance knowledge, nurture skilled professionals, and support Atmanirbhar Bharat by strengthening India’s leadership in Critical Minerals and Sustainable industrial technologies.

About Mahindra University:

Mahindra University, Hyderabad (India), is a multidisciplinary, private university with a vision of “Educating future citizens for and of a better world”. It aims to play a significant role in driving globally acclaimed innovation in higher education in the coming years. Mahindra University’s special focus is on generating new knowledge through engagement in cutting-edge research, creating a spirit of research and discovery, experiential learning and entrepreneurship, whilst forging collaborations with industry and global academic institutions. The university is established by the Mahindra Group, one of the largest and most admired multinational federations of companies with presence in over 100 countries and with a turnover of over 25 billion.

The group, built on 80 years of legacy, has more than 3,24,000 employees globally. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., its flagship company, is a global leader in mobility products and farm solutions and is the world's largest tractor company by volume. It is also India’s #1 tractor company, #1 electric 3-wheeler company, with strong businesses across financial services and IT services worldwide.

About IIT Hyderabad:

IITH, established in 2008, has reached a respectable position in academics, research, technology development, and Start-ups in a short span of 17 years. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025), IITH is ranked 7th among Engineering institutes (crossing a first-generation IIT this year), and is ranked 6th in Innovation, while it has maintained its rank within the top 10 Engineering Institutes ever since NIRF was launched. IITH is ranked 664th and 270th in the QS World and Asian University Rankings 2026, respectively (among the top 10% of global institutions in citations per faculty). IITH secured 46 positions by 31 faculties in the Global Top 2% Scientists World list 2025 released by Stanford University (SU) in collaboration with Elsevier across two categories. IITH has been striving for excellence with a motto of "Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH)".

With 340+ full-time Faculty, 360 non-teaching Staff and 5,700+ Students (PG+PhD students accounting for about 60%), IITH has a strong research focus with 5260+ R&D Projects worth of Rs. 1650+ Cr (Rs. 335+ Cr funding in 2024-25, i.e. Rs. 1+ Cr per Faculty, one of the largest per capita funding among IITs), 12,890+ Publications, 2,48,580+ Citations, 154 h-index, 710+ Patents (250 Patents in 2025, making it 0.75 patents per faculty in 2025), and about 335+ Start-ups (that have generated 1100+ jobs with a revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr).

AI & ML to Power Rajasthan’s Mineral Exploration: State Partners with IIT Hyderabad

• Rajasthan Govt. engages IIT Hyderabad to build AI-driven mineral exploration system. 
• Rajasthan state ties up with IIT-Hyderabad to deploy AI & ML for critical mineral mapping across its 39 districts. 
• IIT-Hyderabad to develop advanced AI mineral prediction platform for Rajasthan in ₹ 8.5+ Cr partnership.

In a major step toward modernising India’s mineral exploration ecosystem, the Government of Rajasthan signed an ₹ 8.5+ Cr MoU with IIT Hyderabad (IITH) during the Pravasi Rajasthani Divas 2025 held at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre. The agreement, finalised in the presence of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Prof. B. S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, aims to develop an AI- and ML-driven predictive system for identifying critical and strategic minerals across the state. The partnership positions Rajasthan among the first states in India to deploy advanced computational geoscience tools for mineral intelligence and exploration planning.

Under this collaboration, IITH will build a comprehensive prediction model that integrates geological, geochemical, geophysical and multispectral satellite datasets from 39 districts to generate AI-based mineral prospectivity maps. The system will help identify potential zones for minerals such as lithium, copper, graphite, zinc, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements and other critical resources, supporting the state’s long-term mineral development strategy. The project will be executed in four phases over 18 months, with district-wise analytics, data dashboards and decision-support tools delivered to Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust (RSMET).

Speaking about the initiative, T. Ravikant, Principal Secretary, Department of Mines, Geology & Petroleum, Government of Rajasthan, said: “The state will apply AI and ML for the exploration of critical and strategic minerals under the national programmes of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India. This initiative marks a major advancement in how Rajasthan will identify and utilise its mineral wealth."

On the collaboration with IITH, he added: “A letter of intent has been signed between RSMET and IITH for data exchange and modelling. The project with IITH will be completed in four phases over about 18 months, and its outcome is expected to support a mineral development model and a long-term road map for the state."

Welcoming the partnership, Prof. B. S. Murty, Director, IITH, who was present during the exchange of the MoU, said: “This collaboration brings IITH into the mainstream of India’s critical mineral and resource intelligence mission. By combining advanced AI/ML techniques with geoscience, we are creating tools that will help India become a global leader in exploration technologies. This MoU aligns with our commitment to build solutions for Atmanirbhar Bharat and strengthen the nation’s technological leadership in mineral exploration for the future along with the ongoing relevant projects of the Institute like Australia-India Critical Minerals Research Hub (AICMRH) Bilateral Project, CoE on Critical Minerals as complete indigenization of manufacturing sector in our country is mainly dependent on availability of all kinds of minerals locally within our country.

This project will be led by Dr. C. Krishna Mohan, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Hyderabad, in collaboration with Critical Mineral Trackers, a startup based at the Technology Research Park at IIT Hyderabad. The initiative is expected to reshape mineral exploration practices in Rajasthan, accelerate the discovery of critical minerals vital for India’s clean energy and manufacturing goals, and create a scalable AI-driven model that can be adopted by other states. With global demand for lithium, rare earth elements, and battery metals rising sharply, officials believe this effort positions both Rajasthan and India strategically within the future mineral supply chain.

About IIT Hyderabad:

IITH, established in 2008, has reached a respectable position in academics, research, technology development and startups in a short span of 17 years. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025), IITH is ranked 7th among Engineering institutes (crossing a first generation IIT), and is ranked 6th in Innovation, while it has maintained its rank within the top 10 Engineering Institutes ever since NIRF was launched. IITH is ranked 664 and 270 in the QS World and Asian University Ranking 2026, respectively (among the top 10% of global institutions in citations per faculty). IITH secured 46 positions by 31 faculties in the Global Top 2% Scientists World list 2025 released by Stanford University (SU) in collaboration with Elsevier across two categories. IITH has been striving for excellence with a motto of "Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH)"

With 340 full-time faculty, 360+ non-teaching staff and 5,700+ students (PG+PhD students accounting for about 60%), IITH has a strong research focus with 5210+ R&D projects worth of Rs. 1640+ Cr (Rs. 335+ Cr funding in 2024-25, i.e. Rs. 1+ Cr per faculty, one of the largest per capita funding among IITs), 12,750+ publications, 2,44,300+ citations, 154 h-index, 630+ patents (210+ Patents in 2024, the largest per capita patents filed among IITs), and about 335+ Startups (that have generated 1100+ jobs with a revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr).

About Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust (RSMET)

The Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust (RSMET) is a dedicated entity under the Department of Mines & Geology, Government of Rajasthan, established to promote systematic, scientific, and technology-driven mineral exploration across the state. The Trust is mandated to undertake high-priority exploration of critical, strategic, and deep-seated minerals, support advanced geoscientific studies, and facilitate resource assessment for future mining projects. RSMET plays a key role in strengthening Rajasthan’s mineral sector by funding and coordinating exploration activities, adopting modern techniques such as remote sensing, geophysical surveys, and predictive modelling, and enabling the state to build a long-term roadmap for mineral security and sustainable development.