India Critical Minerals Deals With Brazil Canada France Netherlands: From Import Dependence To Resource Power
For decades, India tried to become a manufacturing power by building factories first and worrying about raw materials later. That model worked for textiles, pharma and even automobiles. But it quietly failed in electronics, batteries and advanced technology sectors where supply chains matter more than labour costs. The recent negotiations with Brazil, Canada, France and the Netherlands on critical minerals mark the first serious admission that manufacturing strength begins underground, not on the assembly line.
India’s industrial ambition repeatedly ran into the same invisible wall. We could assemble phones but not dominate electronics. We could produce vehicles but not control EV batteries. We could design missiles but depended on imported components. The missing link was not policy incentives or workforce. It was raw material security. Lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements remained overwhelmingly imported, and much of their processing globally flowed through a single country. That meant every ambitious industrial plan ultimately relied on external stability.
This is why critical minerals determine industrial power today. Oil powered the twentieth century economy. Storage, electronics and materials will power the twenty first. Electric vehicles run on lithium chemistry, wind turbines require rare earth magnets, semiconductors depend on specialised materials and defence electronics need advanced mineral inputs. A nation that controls factories but not minerals controls only margins, not markets.
The choice of partners is also revealing. Brazil offers scale in mineral reserves. Canada brings mining expertise and lithium ecosystem depth. France contributes nuclear and processing technology capability. The Netherlands provides refining logistics and recycling networks. This is not India replacing one dependency with another. It is India deliberately distributing dependence so that no single disruption can paralyse industry. The strategy resembles financial portfolio diversification applied to geopolitics.
There is clear policy continuity here. After 2014 India diversified crude imports, built strategic petroleum reserves and negotiated long term supply contracts across regions. That prevented oil shocks from crippling the economy. The minerals push applies the same thinking to the next industrial era. Energy security is evolving into technology security. The objective is not merely to keep factories running but to ensure future industries can exist in the first place.
The domestic impact could be substantial. Battery gigafactories become viable only when mineral inputs are predictable. EV manufacturing can scale only when cell supply stabilises. Semiconductor fabrication requires material assurance years in advance. Defence indigenisation depends on component reliability. Each of these sectors multiplies into supplier networks, MSMEs and skilled employment. Raw material certainty is what converts policy announcements into production lines.
Geopolitically, this also reflects a new form of non alignment. Instead of military blocs, nations now navigate supply chain alliances. India is partnering across continents without binding itself to one camp. Autonomy is being preserved not by distance from others but by engagement with many.
Execution will still matter. Overseas asset acquisition requires financing strength. Environmental approvals abroad can delay projects. Processing technology must develop domestically or ores will again be exported for value addition elsewhere. The agreements are therefore only the foundation, not the finished structure.
For a long time India tried to become a manufacturing hub in a world where inputs were controlled elsewhere. These negotiations signal a shift in mindset. India is no longer attempting to merely participate in global supply chains. It is attempting to shape them. That transition, from market to architect, may define whether India remains a large economy or becomes an industrial power.
