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International Relations May 26, 2026 4 min read Daily brief · #12 of 40

India and US broaden cooperation on critical minerals supply chain. Will it catalyse investments?

India and the United States signed a bilateral Strategic Critical Minerals Cooperation Framework on May 26, 2026, aimed at securing supply chains for mineral...

GS Paper II (India-US Relations International Organisations) GS Paper III (Economy Resource Security)

What Happened

  • India and the United States signed a bilateral Strategic Critical Minerals Cooperation Framework on May 26, 2026, aimed at securing supply chains for minerals essential to advanced technology and clean energy.
  • The framework deepens cooperation across the entire critical minerals and rare earths supply chain — covering mining, processing, recycling, and related investment flows.
  • The US government mobilised over $30 billion in letters of interest, loans, and investment support in partnership with the private sector to secure critical mineral supply chains globally.
  • Both nations committed to protecting sensitive supply chains from coercive market practices and reducing collective vulnerability to single-source monopolies — a reference to China's dominance in rare earth processing.
  • India had earlier joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative in February 2026, a grouping launched in December 2025 to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence.

Static Topic Bridges

India's Critical Minerals List (2023)

The Ministry of Mines released India's first list of 30 critical minerals in July 2023, identifying minerals essential for economic development, national security, and the clean energy transition. A mineral is classified as "critical" when supply disruption poses significant risk to economic or national security and when it lacks easy substitutes. The MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 inserted 24 critical and strategic minerals into Schedule I of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, placing auctioning of these minerals exclusively under central government jurisdiction.

  • 30 minerals on India's list include: Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Graphite, REE (Rare Earth Elements), Titanium, Vanadium, Tungsten, Gallium, Germanium, and others.
  • Selection methodology: three-stage process — reviewing global critical mineral strategies, inter-ministerial consultations (Power, Atomic Energy, Renewable Energy ministries), and economic criticality scoring.
  • India is heavily import-dependent for most critical minerals, with processing dominated by China.

Connection to this news: The India-US framework directly targets supply chain resilience for India's 30 critical minerals, enabling joint mining, processing, and recycling investments to reduce dependence on single-source suppliers.

Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)

The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a US-led plurilateral grouping launched in June 2022 in Toronto, Canada, aimed at catalysing public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains globally. It promotes high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards alongside supply security. In February 2026, the US announced FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) as the MSP's successor framework.

  • Founded: June 2022, announced at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention.
  • Members (14 countries + EU): Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, UK, US, and the European Union.
  • India joined the MSP, making it a key partner in reshaping global critical mineral supply chains away from Chinese dominance.

Connection to this news: The bilateral India-US Critical Minerals Framework operates as a deeper, bilateral layer within the MSP architecture, with both nations also cooperating through the QUAD on critical minerals.

Rare Earth Supply Chain Geopolitics

Rare earth elements (REEs) — 17 lanthanide metals plus scandium and yttrium — are indispensable for defence systems, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and semiconductors. China controls approximately 60% of global REE mining and over 85% of global REE processing, giving it significant leverage in global supply chains. Diversifying processing capacity to trusted partners like India is a stated priority of both US and EU industrial policy.

  • India possesses the world's 5th largest reserves of rare earth minerals (estimated 6.9 million tonnes), primarily in Kerala, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
  • Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) is the public sector entity responsible for rare earth extraction and processing.
  • The MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 placed rare earth minerals exclusively under central government auction authority to accelerate development.

Connection to this news: The framework positions India as a processing and supply alternative to China, with US investment expected to flow into India's underdeveloped rare earth processing sector.

India-US Strategic Partnership: 2+2 Dialogue and QUAD

The India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership encompasses the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue (Defence and Foreign Ministers), the QUAD (India, US, Japan, Australia), Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), and BECA/LEMOA/COMCASA foundational defence agreements. The critical minerals framework adds an economic security dimension to this architecture.

  • iCET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies): Launched January 2023, covers semiconductors, AI, space, quantum computing, and defence innovation — all critical minerals-dependent sectors.
  • QUAD Critical Minerals Working Group: Coordinates supply chain resilience across the four-nation grouping.
  • Bilateral trade target: $500 billion set in the February 2026 US-India joint statement.

Connection to this news: The critical minerals framework is the resource security pillar of the iCET, operationalising supply chain resilience commitments at the investment level.

Key Facts & Data

  • India-US Strategic Critical Minerals Cooperation Framework signed: May 26, 2026
  • US mobilised: over $30 billion in investment support for critical mineral supply chains globally
  • India's critical minerals list: 30 minerals, released July 2023 by Ministry of Mines
  • MMDR Amendment Act, 2023: inserted 24 critical/strategic minerals into Schedule I; central government has exclusive auctioning rights
  • Minerals Security Partnership (MSP): launched June 2022; 14 countries + EU; India is a member
  • MSP successor: FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement), announced February 2026
  • Pax Silica initiative: India joined February 20, 2026; launched December 2025 by the US
  • China's REE dominance: ~60% of global mining, ~85% of global processing
  • India's REE reserves: ~6.9 million tonnes (world's 5th largest)
  • IREL (Indian Rare Earths Limited): nodal PSU for rare earth extraction
On this page
  1. What Happened
  2. Static Topic Bridges
  3. India's Critical Minerals List (2023)
  4. Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)
  5. Rare Earth Supply Chain Geopolitics
  6. India-US Strategic Partnership: 2+2 Dialogue and QUAD
  7. Key Facts & Data
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