Know about the significance of Minerals Security Partnership for India

PM Narendra Modi's visit to America last month was important in many ways. During this, India signed the Minerals Security Partnership.

By Ground report 04 Jul 2023

New Update

Big win for Hasdeo Andolan: Govt told SC, Fresh mines not needed

India is committed to achieving the goal of Net Zero by the year 2070. We have read this line many times in many articles and heard it in many places. But, how will India do this, exactly? And has India started taking steps in this direction? In response to these questions, it is generally said that India will move towards renewable energy by reducing coal-based energy production. E-rickshaws running in different cities of the country want to replace auto-rickshaws running on petrol-diesel. Apart from this, the trend of electronic vehicles is also increasing as against diesel-petrol vehicles. This picture tries to answer both of the above questions.

India's path to just transition lies through the production and availability of critical minerals. How? Let's understand. Rare earth minerals play a very important role in the making of electronic vehicles running on the road, from windmills on the mountains to mobiles and all defence technology. These include cobalt, nickel and lithium which are used to make batteries. India has identified 30 such minerals which are just transition as well as important for India's economic development and defence sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to America last month was important in many ways. During this, India signed the Minerals Security Partnership. With this, India has become a part of a global group called Minerals Security Partnership (MSP).

At the White House today, @POTUS @JoeBiden and I met top CEOs associated with tech and innovation to explore ways in which technology can fuel India-USA relations. Harnessing tech for societal betterment is a common goal that binds us, promising a brighter future for our people. pic.twitter.com/lpxCtuxmzq
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 23, 2023

What is a Minerals Security Partnership?

Many countries of the world including India depend on China for the supply of critical minerals. The largest share of the world's total critical minerals production is in China. Apart from this, minerals are extracted from the mines of Africa. In this way, China alone produces 70 per cent of the global critical minerals production. With the aim of securing the critical mineral supply chain and reducing dependence on China, a group called the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) was formed under the leadership of the US in the year 2022. It includes a total of 13 countries, which apart from exchanging these minerals among themselves, also exchange the technology related to their production.

Significance of this membership for India

Some critical minerals are produced in India but most of the minerals are imported by India. In such a situation, India's dependence on China increases. But in the past, there has been a lot of sourness in the relations between India and China. Therefore, the reduction of India's dependence on China for minerals is going to be beneficial. Apart from this, membership also becomes important because India is now looking for opportunities to emerge not only as a consumer but also as a manufacturer of electronic vehicles. In such a situation, India will be helped in harmonizing with these countries to make battery material and other semiconductors.

"With an entry into the US-led Minerals Security Partnership, India can strengthen its mineral supply chain. But it has to develop processing and manufacturing technology": @rjain88

Read more about the importance of India's critical mineral list by @nitinaayog in @bsindia👇… pic.twitter.com/4nr01e1vjh
— CEEW (@CEEWIndia) July 1, 2023

Apart from this, the global group is significant in protecting the supply chain. Hence, India's entry can be seen as a geo-political move. It is important, as events like the Russia-Ukraine war or the COVID-19 pandemic can global supply chain. In such a situation, it is mandatory to be a part of such a global group to meet your needs.

Conclusion

Although, India's chances of becoming self-sufficient in the field of mineral production are bleak. But as the manufacturing of solar panels, windmills and other electronic goods increases in India, we can emerge as an important country in the field of electronic production. The screw in this objective is only that minerals are an important component in the field of electronic production. But, even after this, there are many other factors which can become an obstacle in the way of India becoming self-sufficient. Despite all these reasons, India becoming a part of this group is an important step towards becoming a green energy hub.