India's Critical-Mineral Strategy Is Moving From Plans to Infrastructure
24 Sep, 2026By Karan Khurana1 min read
300 exploration projects. 4 processing parks. And critical-mineral partnerships spanning multiple countries. India's critical-mineral strategy is beginning to move from plans to infrastructure.
Around 300 critical and strategic mineral exploration projects are being taken up by the Geological Survey of India in 2026-27, while four Critical Mineral Processing Parks are being supported across Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra. The push is extending beyond India's borders too: critical-mineral partnerships are being developed with countries including Japan, Peru, the UK and the US, while India has also acquired five lithium blocks in Argentina through KABIL.
Put together, these developments show a strategy taking shape across multiple fronts: exploration at home, resource access overseas, and processing capacity within India.
What comes next matters most
Finding or securing a mineral is only the beginning. The real strategic value comes from the ability to process, refine and recover these materials at scale. If India can build those capabilities domestically alongside exploration, it can move from simply securing critical minerals to retaining more of their value within the country, an important measure of India's progress towards long-term resource security.
