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With bold new policies in place, India's success in the global race for critical minerals now hinges on turning ambition into effective, coordinated execution.
The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR) 2025 marks a watershed moment in India’s strategic planning for critical minerals security. The government’s decision to allocate a sovereign fund of Rs 34,000 Crores for the National Critical Minerals Mission, including global exploration and acquisition of 24 critical commodities by 2030-31, demonstrates a bold and forward-thinking approach. This move positions India alongside global powers competing for secure access to vital resources essential for technology, renewable energy, and industrial growth. The legislation signifies a transition from reactive measures to proactive action, aligning with the national visions of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-reliant India) and “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India). Yet, ambition alone is insufficient. As the global race for critical minerals intensifies, India’s success will depend on the effective implementation of a robust strategy. This requires strengthening integrated approaches designed to address challenges across the critical minerals exploration, acquisition, and value-chain spectrum, ensuring India not only secures supply but also builds global leadership.
The government’s decision to allocate a sovereign fund of Rs 34,000 Crores for the National Critical Minerals Mission, including global exploration and acquisition of 24 critical commodities by 2030-31, demonstrates a bold and forward-thinking approach.
India’s mineral wealth remains vastly underexplored, especially for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements. While the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has a strong legacy of baseline mapping, the country lacks high-resolution, 4D geological datasets necessary for predictive exploration. The MMDR Act 2025, with its emphasis on exploration and sovereign funding, creates an opportunity to reimagine India’s exploration ecosystem. A scientific knowledge-driven strategy must form the backbone of this pillar.
GSI should spearhead a National Mineral Systems Mapping programme, integrating advanced geophysical, geochemical, isotopic (age), and remote-sensing datasets. These efforts should culminate in comprehensive subsurface geological models and Mineral Fertility Maps, developed collaboratively with capable Notified Private Exploration Agencies (NPEAs) through Regional Mineral Targeting (RMT) programmes for critical minerals over the entire country. GSI’s role should evolve into that of a premier science provider, delivering high-quality, pre-competitive datasets to guide exploration. Complementing this, NPEAs should leverage their agility and innovation using National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding to conduct extensive pre-competitive exploration and systematically test high-priority targets generated by mineral fertility analyses. This public-private synergy will align state-backed scientific infrastructure with private enterprise capabilities, dramatically improving exploration efficiency, accelerating discoveries, and positioning India closer to global best practices seen in Canada and Australia.
While India’s regulatory reforms, such as the introduction of Exploration Licenses (EL) and Composite Licenses (CL), represent progress, they remain insufficient to attract the scale of risk capital needed for transformative exploration. Leading jurisdictions like Canada and Australia allow explorers to freely select ground, supported by robust tenure and title security, and treat exploration rights as tradable assets. This creates liquidity, incentivises private investment, and allows exploration companies to raise funds in public markets. India should adopt a similar model. Clear downstream rights over their discoveries for the explorers, combined with a streamlined process for environmental and forest approvals, will reduce entry barriers. A predictable, transparent, and well-coordinated state-centre regulatory regime is critical to build investor confidence.
GSI’s role should evolve into that of a premier science provider, delivering high-quality, pre-competitive datasets to guide exploration. Complementing this, NPEAs should leverage their agility and innovation using National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding to conduct extensive pre-competitive exploration and systematically test high-priority targets generated by mineral fertility analyses.
On the financial side, the creation of a domestic critical minerals trading platform can introduce price transparency, reduce investment risk, and enable hedging. Linking India’s exploration sector to the Indian Mineral Industry Code (IMIC) - aligned with global reporting standards - will further enhance credibility. Encouraging explorers to list on the BSE and NSE would unlock vast domestic capital, empowering Junior Explorers and Miners to deploy risk capital effectively. These reforms would shift India’s exploration sector from being state-dominated to a market-driven engine of discovery.
India’s efforts to secure overseas mineral assets through Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have historically fallen short due to bureaucratic inefficiencies, slow decision-making, and a lack of commercial agility. With a sovereign fund earmarked for critical mineral acquisitions, a bold restructuring of India’s overseas acquisition strategy is essential. A PSU-diaspora partnership model, complemented by government–to-government (G2G) engagement, offers a pragmatic solution. Many agile Indian entrepreneurs have already acquired stakes in critical mineral assets abroad, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Australia.
Leveraging these existing networks, India could establish a Critical Minerals Overseas Acquisition Authority (CMOAA) as a sovereign-backed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). This entity would function as a strategic investment arm, with PSUs providing financing, sovereign guarantees, and diplomatic leverage, while globally experienced diaspora-led companies and private firms drive operational execution, technical due diligence, and commercial negotiations. The CMOAA should have a hybrid governance structure, blending PSU oversight with private-sector agility. Its board could include representatives from relevant ministries, PSUs, diaspora entrepreneurs, and industry experts, ensuring a balance of strategy and speed. This structure would enable the SPV to act decisively, bypassing bureaucratic bottlenecks, and respond quickly in competitive international markets.
With a sovereign fund earmarked for critical mineral acquisitions, a bold restructuring of India’s overseas acquisition strategy is essential. A PSU-diaspora partnership model, complemented by government–to-government (G2G) engagement, offers a pragmatic solution.
Beyond acquisitions, India should focus on integrating overseas assets into a Mine-to-India value chain. This includes forming processing partnerships in host countries, securing logistics infrastructure, and facilitating technology transfer to India’s downstream industries. Such an approach would not only secure raw materials but also strengthen India’s position in global supply chains, creating a resilient ecosystem for its clean energy and high-tech ambitions. This model draws inspiration from China’s strategy, where state-backed private enterprises dominate overseas acquisitions and operate with diplomatic support. However, India has a unique edge: its highly skilled and well-connected diaspora serves as a natural bridge between New Delhi and resource-rich nations, amplifying India’s geopolitical influence while reducing operational risk. By empowering this network through sovereign funding and institutional support, India can create a globally competitive acquisition mechanism and ensure a long-term, diversified supply of critical minerals.
Critical minerals security extends beyond securing raw materials; the ability to process, refine, and innovate across the value chain will determine India’s strategic autonomy. Currently, China controls nearly 70 percent of global processing capacity for key minerals like lithium, rare earths, and cobalt, making India highly vulnerable. The MMDR Act 2025 rightly emphasises research and development, but the scale and ambition of India’s efforts must increase significantly to achieve parity with global leaders. Allocating 20-30 percent of the NMET budget to extractive metallurgy R&D is critical to bridging the “lab-to-factory” gap.
Beyond primary and urban mining, India’s real competitive advantage could lie in developing a world-class Mining Equipment, Technology & Services (METS) ecosystem. The METS sector refers to the network of technology providers, engineering firms, and service companies that support the entire mining value chain.
Flagship national research institutions, such as CSIR-IMMT and CSIR-NML, along with newly established Centres of Excellence, should work in close partnership with the private sector to design and commercialise cost-effective, environmentally sustainable extraction and processing technologies. These efforts should prioritise clean separation of rare earths, low-carbon lithium extraction, battery recycling, and green metallurgy for base metals. India’s recently approved Rs 1,500 Crore urban mining initiative, which focuses on recovering strategic minerals from e-waste and mine tailings, is another bold step toward building a circular economy.
However, beyond primary and urban mining, India’s real competitive advantage could lie in developing a world-class Mining Equipment, Technology & Services (METS) ecosystem. The METS sector refers to the network of technology providers, engineering firms, and service companies that support the entire mining value chain. Australia’s METS industry, which has been contributing over USD 90 billion to the Australian economy, and Canada’s thriving mining innovation clusters demonstrate how public-private collaboration can turn a domestic industry into a global powerhouse.
India’s METS strategy must include: NMET-backed innovation grants for NPEAs and startups to develop cutting-edge exploration tools and autonomous mining systems; establishing National Mining Innovation Clusters to bring together academia, industry, and technology firms; and export promotion of Indian-developed mining software and green processing technologies. By investing heavily in processing and METS, India can create high-skilled jobs and strengthen its technological sovereignty. This would enable India to transition from being a minerals producer to a global provider of mining innovation, giving it a decisive edge in the 21st-century race for critical minerals.
The integrated approach outlined in this paper- a national exploration partnership, a pro-investment regulatory and financial ecosystem, a diaspora-led overseas acquisition strategy, and a globally competitive processing and METS ecosystem - together form an integrated blueprint for India’s transformation.
India’s decisive reforms, ambitious sovereign funding, and forward-thinking policy intent provide a strong foundation for securing critical mineral supply chains. The challenge now lies in execution. The integrated approach outlined in this paper- a national exploration partnership, a pro-investment regulatory and financial ecosystem, a diaspora-led overseas acquisition strategy, and a globally competitive processing and METS ecosystem - together form an integrated blueprint for India’s transformation. This approach positions India not merely as a mineral producer but as a global leader in exploration technology, processing innovation, and sustainable mining practices. Critical minerals security is no longer a sectoral agenda; it is central to India’s industrial sovereignty, clean energy transition, and economic competitiveness. India stands at a pivotal juncture. By building strong institutions, incentivising innovation, and forging global partnerships, the nation can turn vulnerabilities into strengths, diversify its resource base, and lead the global minerals economy. The coming decade must be India’s exploration and innovation revolution, a decisive leap from dependency to leadership.
Biplob Chatterjee is the CEO and Director of Geovale Services and serves as Chair of the Sub‑Committee on Critical Minerals under CII’s National Committee on Mining.
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Biplob Chatterjee is the CEO and Director of Geovale Services and serves as Chair of the Sub-Committee on Critical Minerals under CII’s National Committee on ...
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