Current Issue

  • India has raised formal concerns with China regarding export restrictions on Germanium, a critical mineral.
  • Germanium is essential for semiconductors, fiber optics, and solar panels—key sectors for strategic and technological development.

About Germanium (Ge)

  • Element Type: Metalloid
  • Appearance: Silvery-grey, brittle solid
  • Symbol: Ge
  • Atomic Number: 32
  • Group: Lies between Silicon (Si) and Tin (Sn) in Group 14 (IVa) of the Periodic Table
  • Uses:
    • Semiconductor industry
    • Fiber optic communication
    • Infrared optics
    • Solar panels
  • Discovery:
    • Discovered in 1886 by German chemist Clemens Winkler
    • Predicted in 1871 by Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleyev, who called it “ekasilicon”

Significance for India

  • Highlights India’s growing focus on securing critical mineral supply chains.
  • Strategic for India’s ambitions in electronics manufacturing, renewable energy, and defense technologies.
  • Part of larger concerns over China’s control over global supply chains of critical minerals.

Published by Pragyanxetu

One Earth. One Future

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