Critical minerals in 2025: a global overview with preliminary insights from India

The global shift towards clean energy systems, electric mobility and digital technologies has increased the strategic importance of critical minerals for modern industries and national security. This paper examines the global availability, production and trade patterns of the thirty critical minerals identified by India and highlights the challenges arising from concentrated supply in a few countries, and India’s high dependence on imports. Minerals such as niobium, heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), light rare earth elements (LREEs), strontium and antimony are identified as particularly vulnerable due to limited domestic reserves, negligible processing and low recycling rates. The study also evaluates India’s recent policy measures including the National Critical Minerals Mission, international partnerships, exploration reforms and the use of artificial intelligence for mineral targeting. The paper further discusses the role of critical minerals in supporting India’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goals, especially clean energy, responsible production and climate action. It further proposes a roadmap for strengthening India’s critical mineral security through diversification of supply sources, development of refining and recycling capabilities, and promoting research for material substitution. This study indicates that a secure and sustainable management of critical minerals will remain a national priority for India in the foreseeable future.