The Union Cabinet is likely to approve a Joint Declaration of Intent with Germany for cooperation in the critical minerals sector and is also expected to approve a similar pact with Canada on Tuesday, sources said.
The decision is expected to be taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
If approved, the move will bolster India’s strategic partnerships amid a global rush among nations for securing resources vital for the clean energy transition and advanced technologies.
Deal with Germany
The pact with Germany will focus on joint exploration, sustainable mining, supply chain resilience and technology transfer, sources told PTI.
This comes at a time when India is ramping up efforts to secure critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements through international alliances, as part of its Atmanirbhar Bharat push in energy security.
Deal with Canada
The Cabinet is also likely to clear the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent between India and Canada for cooperation in the critical minerals sector.
The moves align with the government’s Critical Minerals Mission launched last year and recent auctions of mineral blocks under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act.
This comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to India this week. He will visit Mumbai on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business leaders.
Deal with Brazil
Earlier this month, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva praised PM Modi after India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed a raft of other deals.
Highlighting the India-Brazil partnership, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said, “India and Brazil are natural partners. Our relationship is built on the foundation of democracy, diversity and shared aspirations for development.
“Brazil is India’s largest trading partner in Latin America and the Caribbean region. We are also expanding cooperation in health and pharma, energy, including renewable energy, critical minerals, defence, the aviation sector, and there is significant growth in our collaboration in science and technology, digital public infrastructure, and artificial intelligence,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.
What are Critical Minerals?
A 2022 final list of critical minerals, published by the US Secretary of the Interior, includes 50 minerals.
They are: Aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, dysprosium, erbium, europium, fluorspar, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, praseodymium, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, tantalum, tellurium, terbium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium.