Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) are minerals and elements vital for modern technologies, economic stability, and national security, but which face high supply risk due to geopolitical concentration or limited availability. They are the essential building blocks for everything from smartphones and electric vehicle batteries to defense systems and renewable energy infrastructure (e.g., lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements).
The core challenge is geopolitical: supply is often dominated by a single or few countries, like China’s control over rare earths processing. For a nation like India, securing a diversified and resilient supply of CRMs is a strategic imperative. It is crucial for achieving its energy transition goals, advancing its high-tech manufacturing under schemes like PLI, and ensuring strategic autonomy in an era of great power competition
Need of Critical Raw Materials:
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Energy Transition & Climate Goals
CRMs like lithium, cobalt, and rare earths are fundamental to clean energy technologies. They are essential for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines. For India, which has committed to net-zero emissions by 2070, securing these materials is non-negotiable. A reliable CRM supply chain is the backbone of initiatives like the National Green Hydrogen Mission and the rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity, ensuring the nation can meet its climate commitments without depending on geopolitical rivals for the necessary components.
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Economic Competitiveness & High-Tech Manufacturing
Modern manufacturing is impossible without CRMs. They are vital for producing semiconductors, electronics, drones, and advanced machinery. For India’s “Make in India” and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes to succeed in attracting global supply chains, a secure supply of materials like gallium and germanium is crucial. Without them, India risks remaining an assembler rather than a manufacturer, unable to compete in high-value, technology-driven sectors and perpetually reliant on imports for finished goods.
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National Security & Defense Modernization
Advanced defense systems are built on CRMs. Rare earth elements are used in precision-guided missiles, radar systems, and jet engines. Titanium is critical for aerospace. For India, ensuring an uninterruptible supply, free from foreign leverage, is a direct national security imperative. Dependence on adversaries like China for these materials creates strategic vulnerability, compromising the goal of strategic autonomy and the ability to modernize the armed forces with indigenous technology.
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Technological Innovation & R&D
The next wave of technological advancement—in artificial intelligence, 6G communication, and quantum computing—will be powered by CRMs. Elements like indium (for touchscreens) and tantalum (for capacitors) are the lifeblood of R&D. For India to become a global innovation hub, it must secure access to these materials. A shortage stifles research, limits the development of cutting-edge products, and could cause the nation to fall behind in the global technology race, impacting long-term economic and strategic standing.
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Infrastructure & Industrial Development
Even traditional sectors like infrastructure and steel depend on CRMs. Cobalt and chromium are used to create high-strength, corrosion-resistant alloys for bridges, power plants, and transportation networks. As India invests heavily in infrastructure, the quality and longevity of these projects hinge on access to these specialized materials. They enable the development of more efficient and durable industrial assets, which is key to sustainable long-term growth and reducing maintenance costs.
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Job Creation & Socio-Economic Growth
The entire CRM value chain—from mining and processing to manufacturing and recycling—is a significant source of employment. Establishing domestic CRM processing capabilities, as India is attempting with its “Khanij Bidesh India Ltd.” (KABIL) initiative, can create millions of jobs. This fosters socio-economic development, reduces import bills, and builds a skilled workforce. A resilient CRM strategy is thus not just a technical need but a core component of inclusive economic growth and poverty alleviation.
Control over Critical Raw Materials:
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Control over Oil
Control over oil has long defined global geopolitics. Power is concentrated with producer cartels like OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, which manipulate supply and prices. Major consumers like the US, China, and India are deeply vulnerable to these fluctuations. The weaponization of oil, as seen in the 1973 embargo and 2022 price spikes post-Ukraine invasion, demonstrates its use as a political tool. For India, which imports over 85% of its needs, this creates severe energy insecurity and inflationary pressure. Its response involves diversifying sources (e.g., Russian crude), building strategic reserves, and accelerating a transition to renewables to reduce this strategic dependency and the leverage of producer nations.
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Control over Natural Gas
The geopolitics of gas is shaped by pipeline politics and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure. Russia has historically used pipeline gas as a lever over Europe, as evidenced by the Ukraine crises. Conversely, the rise of flexible LNG trade, dominated by the US, Qatar, and Australia, is creating a more globalized market, offering consumers like India more alternatives. However, control is exerted through infrastructure; who builds the pipelines and LNG terminals dictates influence and dependency. For India, a growing gas consumer, the challenge is securing long-term LNG contracts at stable prices and navigating the complex web of transit routes and suppliers to avoid geopolitical blackmail.
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Control over Rare Earth Elements
Control over Rare Earth Elements (REEs) is a 21st-century strategic battleground. China dominates with nearly 60% of mining and 90% of processing capacity, giving it a chokehold on supply chains for vital technologies like EVs, smartphones, and defense systems. It has demonstrated a willingness to weaponize this control, as in the 2010 embargo against Japan. This concentration forces major economies to de-risk. India, with its own significant reserves, is actively developing its domestic REE sector through KABIL and seeking international partnerships to build alternative, non-Chinese supply chains, viewing this as essential for its technological sovereignty and security.