India has solidified its position as a key player in the global push for critical minerals by signing 15 agreements since January 2025. These agreements, which focus on minerals essential for clean energy technologies like lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper, and rare earth elements, place India ahead of countries like China, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union, each of which has secured 11 agreements. The United States currently leads this global effort with 41 agreements.
The agreements are part of India’s broader strategy to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and bolster its domestic capability in exploration, processing, manufacturing, and recycling. This initiative is spearheaded by the National Critical Mineral Mission, which received government approval in January 2025. The mission has been allocated Rs 16,300 crore and aims to attract an additional Rs 18,000 crore in investment.
Under this mission, India plans to conduct 1,200 domestic exploration projects and secure overseas mining assets through both public and private companies. Notably, state-owned Khanij Bidesh India Ltd has partnered with 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, there is a growing trend of governments signing cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding to secure mineral supplies and develop domestic processing industries. However, transparency remains a concern, as 39 percent of critical minerals agreements analyzed did not have publicly available texts.
The increasing competition for critical minerals underscores the necessity for India to not only secure raw materials but also to develop strong domestic manufacturing capabilities. Building sustainable supply chains, creating employment, and enhancing industrial capacity will be crucial as global demand for clean energy technologies continues to rise.