Status quo on critical minerals, but race won't ease for India

China refines 68% of the world's cobalt, 65% of nickel, and 60% of lithium of the grade needed for EV batteries

- Manas Pimpalkhare & Rituraj Baruah

With US President Donald Trump deciding not to introduce new tariffs on critical minerals in his announcement on 2 April, India is likely to continue facing stiff competition from other countries in acquiring these minerals, which are used in important sectors such as electric vehicles and semiconductors.

India's critical minerals mission has, since its inception in July 2024, focused on procuring minerals such as lithium and cobalt from several countries to reduce its dependence on just a few, especially China.

The US has followed a similar approach in an effort to reduce China's dominance in the production and refining of critical minerals.

With America now signaling that it is still in the fray to secure as many critical-mineral resources as possible, the race to secure these natural resources is expected to heat up, according to domain experts.