RAS question
What is the new royalty rate for high-grade Graphite (80%+ carbon) approved by the Cabinet?
Correct answer: (A) 2%.
The Union Cabinet approved a 2% royalty rate on an ad valorem basis for high-grade graphite with 80% or more fixed carbon.
Explanation
The PIB release from the Ministry of Mines gives the graphite royalty table in two grade bands. Graphite with eighty per cent or more fixed carbon carries 2% of Average Sale Price on an ad valorem basis. Graphite with less than eighty per cent fixed carbon carries 4% of ASP on the same basis. High-grade graphite at the 80%+ fixed-carbon threshold therefore falls in the 2% PIB category. The release also explains the policy logic: graphite was being moved to an ad valorem royalty so that royalty collections reflect price changes across grades, instead of using a flat rupees-per-tonne basis.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 1% is the PIB-listed royalty rate for zirconium metal content, not for either grade of graphite.
- (C) 4% applies only to graphite with less than eighty per cent fixed carbon, so it is the lower-grade graphite slab, not the 80%+ category.
- (D) A 6% royalty rate does not apply to graphite; the approved graphite rates are 2% for 80% or more fixed carbon and 4% for below that threshold.
Concept
Cabinet-approved royalty rates for critical and strategic minerals are part of current affairs in mineral governance. Such rate changes recur in RAS because they connect policy, mining regulation and resource-economy questions in one factual update.