Key Points

BCG's Abhishek Bhatia suggested that India can become self-reliant in critical minerals through two approaches: first, by promoting domestic mining of these minerals, and second, by securing strategic partnerships with countries that have abundant rare earth resources.

"As the Prime Minister has said, we need to be self-reliant and up-to-date on these rare earth minerals as well, whether it is mining in India or taking strategic stakes in countries which have these rare earth vendors. I think both things India needs to do," Bhatia said, speaking to ANI.

Bhatia said that when it comes to minerals, it's a two-fold story. He noted that India is already strong in base minerals like bauxite and iron ore, which is positive.

However, with the rise of electric vehicle adoption, rare earth minerals have become far more important. He pointed out the recent developments around China imposing controls on rare earth minerals and emphasised, echoing the Prime Minister, that India needs to be self-reliant and up-to-date in securing these rare earth minerals, whether through domestic mining or other means.

Bhatia cited recent high-level diplomatic engagements with Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile--nations forming the "Lithium Triangle"--as crucial steps toward securing India's future energy needs.

"This triangle is critical for lithium, a key component for EV batteries. India's outreach to these countries signals a clear strategic intent," he said.

"Prime Minister visit to Argentina and Bolivia and Chile is an extremely important triangle for lithium, which is a critical element for electric vehicle batteries, which is this other. So I think this is something which is again going to be a game changer as we go forward," he added.

For context, early this April, China announced a decision to implement export controls on certain rare earth-related items, pushing a supply shortage across the world, including India. However, in recent developments, China has surprisingly assured India of an unrestricted supply of critical mineral elements.

China's overwhelming control of global rare earth processing - commanding over 90 per cent of the world's magnet production capacity - has created significant vulnerabilities for industries worldwide. These materials are critical across multiple sectors, including automobiles, home appliances, and clean energy systems. Beyond China, there are only a few alternative suppliers of critical minerals.

The Union Cabinet in January 2025 approved the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) with an expenditure of Rs 16,300 crore and an expected investment of Rs 18,000 crore by Public Sector Undertakings.

Recently, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy said the central government is actively encouraging private companies to mine and explore critical minerals overseas and bring them back into the country to serve the needs of the domestic industry.

- ANI