India in talks with multiple countries to develop critical minerals for domestic needs: Piyush Goyal
The Union Commerce and Industry Ministry stated that India is in talks with multiple countries, including the United States, to develop partnerships for processing and securing critical minerals for domestic requirements.
India is participating in international groupings on critical mineral supply chains and is also engaging bilaterally with the UK and European partners to build more resilient supply chains.
India's economy was described as continuing to grow at the fastest pace among major economies.
Nine trade agreements finalised over the past several years have given Indian exporters zero-duty access to markets with a combined GDP of about USD 60 trillion, compared to roughly USD 10 trillion in GDP covered by all pre-2014 free trade agreements combined.
National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM)
Critical minerals are elements essential for clean-energy technologies, electronics, and defence that face high supply-chain risk, often due to geographic concentration of processing in a few countries. India's National Critical Mineral Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2025 to secure exploration, mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals, and to reduce import dependence for the energy transition.
The Commerce Ministry's statement on talks with the US and other countries for critical mineral development is a diplomatic complement to the NCMM's domestic supply-side push — pairing overseas resource access with domestic processing capacity.
Mineral Security Partnership (MSP)
The Mineral Security Partnership is a US-led plurilateral initiative to catalyse public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains among like-minded countries, reducing collective dependence on any single dominant processing hub.
Key Details
- Launched in June 2022 by the United States; India joined as the 14th member in June 2023, during a Prime Ministerial visit to the US.
- Other members include Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, and the European Commission; India is the grouping's only developing-country member.
- Minerals covered include lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, rare earth elements, and copper — the same set prioritised under India's own critical minerals list.
The Commerce Minister's reference to talks with the US on critical mineral development builds directly on India's MSP membership, positioning India as a Global South voice within a developed-country-dominated grouping.
India's FTA Expansion and Zero-Duty Market Access
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a binding bilateral or plurilateral treaty eliminating or reducing tariffs on substantially all trade between signatories, distinct from a non-binding MoU or a preferential trade agreement covering only limited tariff lines.
Key Details
- India has signed agreements including the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA, 2022), India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA, 2022), and the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA, signed 2024), among others, cumulatively described as nine agreements finalised in recent years.
- These deals collectively provide zero-duty, two-way market access to economies with a combined GDP of about USD 60 trillion, compared to about USD 10 trillion in GDP covered by all FTAs India had signed prior to 2014.
- Zero-duty access under an FTA is conditional on Rules of Origin requirements — goods must meet a minimum threshold of local value addition or processing in the exporting country to qualify for preferential tariffs.
The Commerce Ministry cited the expanded FTA network as evidence of improved global market competitiveness for Indian exporters, in the same statement addressing critical mineral partnerships — both framed as pillars of building resilient, diversified trade and supply-chain relationships.
- National Critical Mineral Mission: Cabinet approval 29 January 2025; outlay Rs 34,300 crore over FY 2024-25 to FY 2030-31.
- MMDR Amendment Act, 2023: lists 24 critical and strategic minerals in Part D of the First Schedule; in force from 17 August 2023.
- India joined the Mineral Security Partnership in June 2023 as its 14th and only developing-country member.
- Nine trade agreements finalised in recent years give India zero-duty access to markets worth a combined ~USD 60 trillion GDP, versus ~USD 10 trillion covered by all pre-2014 FTAs.