The emerging crisis of obtaining helium in India

Helium is colourless, odourless, tasteless, inert and a noble gas. India imports helium for its needs, and with the U.S. appearing set to cut off exports of helium since 2021, Indian industry stands to lose out heavily.

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Yet, it finds many applications, mainly in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, in rockets and in nuclear reactors.

Dutch physicist Kamerlingh Onnes liquefied Helium by cooling the gas to -270 degrees Celsius.

India’s Rajmahal volcanic basin in Jharkhand is the store house of helium trapped for billions years. At present, India is mapping the Rajmahal basin extensively for future exploration and harnessing of helium.