Thursday 12 / November / 2026
New Delhi: India has signed 15 agreements involving critical minerals since January 2025, emerging as one of the world's most active countries in securing resources essential for the global energy transition. The United States leads with 41 agreements, while India ranks ahead of China, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the European Union, which have signed 11 each.
The growing number of partnerships reflects an intensifying global effort to secure supplies of lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper and rare earth elements. These minerals are crucial for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, electricity grids, semiconductors and other clean energy technologies.
An analysis by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), based on its Trade & Climate Tracker, identified 211 trade and economic agreements signed between January 2025 and September 2026 covering critical minerals, energy, climate governance and industrial decarbonisation. Of these, 139 agreements included provisions relating to critical raw materials.
India's expanding partnerships reflect its efforts to reduce dependence on external suppliers while strengthening domestic capabilities in mineral exploration, processing, manufacturing and recycling.
The country's National Critical Mineral Mission, approved in January 2025, aims to strengthen the entire critical minerals value chain. Running from 2024-25 to 2030-31, the mission has an allocation of Rs 16,300 crore in government expenditure and seeks to attract an additional Rs 18,000 crore in investment from public sector undertakings.
Its targets include undertaking 1,200 domestic exploration projects and securing 26 overseas mining assets through public sector undertakings and another 24 through private companies.
As part of this strategy, state-owned Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) has partnered with Argentina's CAMYEN to explore and develop five lithium brine blocks covering 15,703 hectares in Catamarca province. India has also entered into an arrangement with Australia to explore joint investment opportunities in lithium and cobalt assets. Cooperation with Germany and Norway has further expanded into supply chain diversification, research, processing and recycling.
The IISD analysis found that 94 of the 139 critical minerals agreements contain provisions aimed at securing supplies for importing countries. Meanwhile, 84 include measures to develop value addition in mineral-producing countries through exploration, local processing, manufacturing and skills development.
Countries such as Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe are encouraging domestic processing through restrictions on exports of certain unprocessed minerals.
The report also highlights the growing preference for memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and cooperation frameworks. Around 68 per cent of critical minerals agreements take these forms rather than conventional free trade agreements, allowing governments to establish partnerships more quickly.
However, the increasing reliance on such arrangements raises concerns about transparency and implementation. The IISD found that 39 per cent of critical minerals agreements do not have publicly available texts.
The analysis also identified a gap between mineral security and climate commitments. Of the 60 agreements primarily focused on critical minerals, only one included additional energy provisions, while none addressed broader climate governance.
The IISD has called for stronger partnerships that promote value addition in producing countries, integrate climate objectives into mineral cooperation and ensure greater transparency.
For India, the challenge is not merely to secure reliable mineral supplies but also to build domestic manufacturing capabilities, generate employment and develop sustainable supply chains.
As demand for clean energy technologies increases, critical minerals diplomacy is becoming an important instrument of economic and climate policy. The success of these partnerships will depend on whether they deliver secure supplies while supporting inclusive industrial growth and environmental sustainability.
