India is actively courting foreign investors to bolster its critical minerals sector, aiming to diversify mineral extraction beyond dominant countries like China and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities.
During the critical minerals summit’s concluding day, Invest India showcased substantial business prospects in critical mineral processing to foreign investors, detailing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives designed to spur growth in this emerging sector.
Mining states like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh also presented industry incentives, highlighting India’s growth trajectory and state-level efforts to foster supportive infrastructure. The summit emphasized a cluster-based approach to promote synergies across mineral extraction, refining, and end-use, particularly in low-carbon technologies.
Under the Narendra Modi government’s accelerated exploration efforts, over 100 critical mineral blocks are now in the pipeline for auction to mining companies.
Critical minerals such as lithium, chromium, nickel, graphite, cobalt, titanium, and rare earth elements are indispensable raw materials for electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, defense, and high-tech telecommunications. Given the dominance of a few countries in mineral extraction, notably China, diversifying the supply chain is critical to mitigate geopolitical uncertainties.
Discussions at the summit highlighted the importance of regulatory certainty, financing frameworks, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards to attract investors. Invest India and the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) were lauded for their facilitation services in establishing processing and beneficiation capabilities in India.
The summit brought together a diverse range of Indian and international stakeholders, including industry leaders, startups, government officials, scientists, academics, and policy experts, aimed at accelerating the domestic production of critical minerals to support India’s economic growth.
Veena Kumari Dermal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, emphasized efforts, both domestic and international, to secure critical mineral supply chains, enhance skill development, and focus on mineral recycling in India during her closing remarks. Dermal also highlighted India’s processing technologies for critical minerals and referenced offshore mining regulation amendments. The summit served as a transformative platform for dialogue and collaboration, paving the way for further discussions to outline steps necessary for India’s emergence as a global leader in the critical minerals sector.