Overview
- The Economic Survey 2025-26 labels metals such as copper, lithium and rare earths as strategic chokepoints shaping supply chains, affordability and geopolitical power.
- The National Critical Mineral Mission is underway as a seven-year, ₹34,300 crore program to build end-to-end capacity from exploration to recycling.
- Budget measures include a ₹7,280 crore scheme for rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing, the ₹18,100 crore ACC battery PLI and roughly ₹1,500 crore to expand mineral recycling.
- India is auctioning domestic critical-mineral blocks and pursuing overseas assets, with lithium moves in Argentina and evaluations in Australia and Chile, even as processing capacity remains concentrated in China.
- Experts and industry at a WTC Mumbai roundtable flagged bottlenecks in high-temperature processing, regulatory clearances, finance and IPR, while an upcoming US-led ministerial is expected to focus India’s push for tangible partnerships and risk-sharing.