India plans a strategic reserve and policy measures to secure rare earths and critical minerals for defense and supply-chain resilience.
India is preparing to establish a strategic reserve of critical minerals to support defense manufacturing, a senior Ministry of Defence official said.
The reserve would be drawn on to "tide over immediate requirement" for hardware such as missiles, aircraft, radars and warships, where shortages of rare earths and related metals can sharply degrade operational readiness, Rajesh Kumar Singh said in New Delhi.
Recent export curbs from China earlier this year disrupted global rare earth flows, particularly for high-performance magnets where China accounts for roughly 90% of production. Although Beijing has eased some controls, the disruption has accelerated efforts worldwide to diversify supply chains and secure alternative sources.
New Delhi has moved on several fronts: classifying rare-earth mining as strategic to speed approvals, and approving a 15 billion rupee incentive package to scale recycling of critical minerals from batteries and e-waste. Officials are also exploring overseas supply avenues, including heavy-rare-earth deposits in Myanmar’s Kachin region.
The combined measures aim to reduce import dependence, bolster domestic processing and recycling capacity, and ensure more resilient inputs for defence and key clean-energy technologies.