Piyush Goyal: India in talks for global deals to boost critical minerals access

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India is in talks with certain countries to enhance collaboration and partnerships for processing and development of critical minerals as per its requirements.

He said India will have free trade agreements with countries around the world to get greater access to critical minerals that are essential for building resilient supply chains in the sector.

“We are talking to some countries with whom we will be having collaborations and partnerships to promote critical minerals being processed and developed for our requirements,” he told reporters here.

The minister said India is also a member of US-led strategic alliance ‘Pax Silica’ that aims to build a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence. These are a group of minerals that are fundamental for modern industries. The sector has supply risks because its production and processing is concentrated in a few countries, with China being the leading player.

They are used in electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, renewable energy, defence equipment, telecommunications and electronics. For example, lithium, cobalt and nickel are used in batteries; rare earth elements are used in magnets for EVs, wind turbines and electronics; while gallium and germanium are important for semiconductors and other advanced technologies.

For India, securing reliable access to these minerals is important to reduce supply-chain vulnerabilities, support domestic manufacturing and accelerate the clean-energy transition. “With several of our partners in UK and Europe, we are in dialogue about how we can build resilient supply chains,” Goyal said.