"Weaponisation of critical minerals and technology poses a new form of economic coercion in international relations." Discuss with reference to India's strategic response through initiatives like the National Critical Mineral Mission.

Economic coercion today works less through sanctions and more through chokepoints in supply chains. At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi (2026), the Prime Minister warned that weaponisation of technology and critical minerals threatens shared progress [1] — a statement that captures a new, non-military instrument of leverage.

Why it constitutes a new form of coercion

• Extreme concentration: a single country processes over 90% of global rare-earth magnet capacity, and export curbs imposed since April 2025 disrupted manufacturers worldwide [2].
• Coercion below the threshold of conflict: licensing delays and export controls on rare earths, advanced chips and AI hardware impose costs without formal trade war.
• Asymmetric vulnerability: minerals like lithium, cobalt, graphite and REEs are inputs to EVs, semiconductors, renewables and defence — disruption directly hits India's green transition and manufacturing goals [3].
• Erosion of multilateral trust: BRICS' New Delhi Declaration (2026) itself sought "diversified, resilient, fair and sustainable" mineral supply chains [4], signalling intra-bloc anxiety.

India's strategic response

• National Critical Mineral Mission (Cabinet-approved, January 2025; Ministry of Mines): ~Rs. 16,300 crore outlay with ~Rs. 18,000 crore PSU investment, covering exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing and recycling of end-of-life products [3].
• Legal-regulatory reform: MMDR Act amendments and notification of 30 critical minerals, enabling auction of deep-seated minerals and private participation [3].
• Securing supply abroad: acquisition of overseas mineral assets by PSUs, plus rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing support and dedicated rare-earth corridors [5].
• Plurilateral de-risking: the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative [6] and the India–Brazil rare-earth cooperation agreement (2026) diversify sourcing without confrontation.

Thus, mineral and technology dependence has become a currency of power, and India's answer is capability-building rather than retaliation. Deepening recycling, processing capacity and trusted partnerships — while offering technology-sharing through Digital Public Infrastructure — can convert vulnerability into strategic autonomy and advance the resilient, equitable order India champions.