Raipur, Aug. 31 -- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday stressed the need for India to become self-reliant in critical and strategic minerals, saying exploration and mining of such mineral blocks are essential to reduce dependence on external resources.

Addressing a roadshow on the 8th tranche of the auction of Critical and Strategic Mineral Blocks in Raipur, Sai thanked the Centre and the Ministry of Mines for selecting Chhattisgarh to host the event.

"The Prime Minister had said that today the world is using its resources as weapons. In such a situation, it is necessary that we become self-reliant in the case of critical and strategic minerals. This will only be possible when we explore critical and strategic mineral b...