India is rapidly establishing itself as a key player in the global race to secure critical minerals essential for clean energy technologies. Since January 2025, the country has signed 15 agreements focused on acquiring vital resources such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper, and rare earth elements. These minerals are crucial for the production of electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, semiconductors, and electricity infrastructure.
While the United States leads with 41 agreements, India has outpaced other major players like China, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union, each of which has secured 11 agreements. This strategic move is part of India’s broader efforts to reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers and enhance domestic capabilities in exploration, processing, manufacturing, and recycling of these minerals.
The National Critical Mineral Mission, approved in January 2025, underscores India’s commitment to this effort. The mission has received a government allocation of Rs 16,300 crore and seeks to attract an additional Rs 18,000 crore in investments. As part of this initiative, India plans to undertake 1,200 domestic exploration projects and acquire overseas mining assets through both public and private sector collaborations.
One notable partnership is between the state-owned Khanij Bidesh India Ltd and Argentina’s CAMYEN to explore five lithium blocks covering 15,703 hectares. Additionally, India is exploring joint investment opportunities in lithium and cobalt with Australia and has expanded cooperation with Germany and Norway.
Globally, the competition for critical minerals is intensifying, with many governments signing cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding to secure their supplies and develop domestic processing industries. However, transparency remains a concern, as 39 percent of such agreements have not made their texts publicly available.
India’s push to secure critical minerals is not just about acquiring raw materials but also about building strong domestic manufacturing capabilities. As global demand for clean energy technologies grows, developing sustainable supply chains, generating employment, and strengthening industrial capacity will be vital for India’s long-term success in this sector.