Critical minerals have become the new frontier of geopolitical competition. Examine India's strategy to secure resilient supply chains.

Lithium, cobalt and rare earths are the raw material of electric mobility, semiconductors and defence systems, yet their mining and processing are concentrated in a handful of countries. At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi (September 2026), India warned that "weaponisation" of technology and critical minerals can hinder shared progress [1].

Why minerals are now a geopolitical lever

• Chokepoint concentration: refining capacity, more than reserves, confers leverage; export controls can halt downstream industry overnight.
• Coercive use: India has repeatedly cautioned that no country should weaponise minerals, technology or supply chains for selfish gain [2].
• Demand surge: the clean-energy and digital transitions make access a question of economic security, not merely trade.

Domestic pillar — mission-mode self-reliance

• National Critical Mineral Mission (2025), with an outlay of about ₹34,300 crore over seven years, covers the full value chain from exploration to recycling [3].
• Expanded GSI exploration projects, auction of critical and offshore mineral blocks, and incentives for recycling and recovery from end-of-life products [3].

External pillar — asset acquisition and partnerships

• KABIL, the Ministry of Mines joint venture, signed an agreement with Catamarca's CAMYEN to explore five lithium brine blocks in Argentina [4].
• Bilateral resource pacts with partners such as Brazil and Australia diversify sourcing away from single suppliers.

Plurilateral pillar — rule-setting

• The New Delhi Declaration sought "reliable, responsible, diversified, resilient, fair, sustainable and just" mineral supply chains, alongside a BRICS logistics-cooperation framework [1].
• Parallel engagement in the Minerals Security Partnership hedges India's options across competing blocs.

Persisting gaps: weak midstream refining, long exploration-to-production lags, and a nascent recycling ecosystem mean import dependence will persist in the near term.

India's approach is thus a three-track hedge — domestic capacity, overseas assets, and coalition-building. Its success will depend on converting exploration into operating mines and building processing capability at home. Pursued alongside plurilateral rule-making, this can turn a vulnerability into a pillar of Atmanirbhar Bharat and of a just global energy transition.