India Plans to Establish Strategic Reserves for Critical Minerals

According to a report by Bloomberg News cited by Mining.com, a senior Indian official revealed that the country is considering building a strategic reserve of critical minerals to meet emergency needs of the defense industry, making it one of the nations accelerating the construction of domestic critical mineral supply chains.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, a senior official at the Indian Ministry of Defense, stated that the purpose of the critical minerals and metals reserve is for "emergency" needs.

On Saturday (20th), Singh disclosed this plan at a media event organized by Business Standard in New Delhi.

This is the first time India has announced plans to build a strategic reserve. Critical military equipment, such as missiles, military aircraft, radar, and warships, require critical minerals, and undersupply could pose serious risks to defense mobilization.

Since April, tensions in the global rare earth market have caused significant concern in India.

Bloomberg News previously reported that the Indian cabinet had approved an incentive plan totaling 15 billion rupees ($170 million) to expand the recycling of critical minerals from batteries and electronic waste, stepping up efforts to meet rare earth supply demands.

Earlier this month, rare earth mines were designated as "strategic projects" by the Indian government, granting them streamlined procedures and expedited environmental approvals to reduce development obstacles, Singh said.

"Overall, India is quite rich in critical mineral resources, and we should be able to utilize these resources more effectively in the future," he added.