India is close to finalising a national policy for stockpiling critical minerals, the raw materials behind everything from smartphone chips and EV batteries to fighter jets and wind turbines. Mines Secretary Keshav Chandra told reporters in New Delhi on Friday, October 9, that the government is "on the verge of finalising" the policy and expects to announce it in about a month.
What the Mines Secretary said
Chandra was speaking on the sidelines of the India Mines and Minerals Conclave 2026, organised by industry body Assocham. The stockpiling policy, he indicated, is meant to make sure India keeps a reserve of key minerals so that strategic sectors such as defence, aerospace, advanced electronics and energy are not left exposed if global supplies are disrupted.
He also spoke about four dedicated critical mineral processing parks the government is working on in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. These parks are meant to speed up value addition for important battery materials within the country, instead of shipping raw ore abroad and importing finished products.
Critical minerals policy: key facts
| Policy | National stockpiling policy for critical minerals |
| Expected announcement | In about a month (by mid-November 2026) |
| Announced by | Mines Secretary Keshav Chandra |
| Event | India Mines and Minerals Conclave 2026 (Assocham), New Delhi |
| Sectors to benefit | Defence, aerospace, electronics, energy |
| Processing parks planned | Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha |
| Critical minerals identified | More than 30 |
| Recycling incentive scheme | Rs 1,500 crore |
What are critical minerals, and why stockpile them?
Critical minerals are elements that are essential to modern technology but are found or processed in only a few places in the world. The government has already published a list of more than 30 such minerals, drawn up after looking at the needs of defence, agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals and telecom.
Some of the most important ones are lithium, nickel and cobalt, which go into lithium-ion batteries for phones, laptops and electric vehicles; copper, which is used in almost every electrical device and power line; and rare earth elements, which are needed to make the powerful magnets found in EV motors, wind turbines, speakers, hard drives and missile guidance systems.
The problem is that India imports most of these materials, and global supply chains for many of them are concentrated in a handful of countries. When a major supplier restricts exports or prices spike, Indian manufacturers can suddenly find themselves short of inputs. A strategic stockpile works like a buffer, much like India's strategic petroleum reserves for crude oil, giving industry time to adjust during a crisis.
Recycling and processing get a push
Kadam Sandeep Vasant, Joint Secretary and Mission Head of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), told the conclave that India needs a self-reliant and resilient ecosystem for minerals used in electronics, defence, space research and nuclear energy. He highlighted the Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme for recycling critical minerals, which aims to recover valuable metals from old batteries and electronic waste instead of letting them go to landfills.
The government's broader priorities for the sector include faster exploration, recycling and beneficiation, modern mining practices and policy reforms. A separate incentive scheme for lithium and nickel processing is also reported to be in the works.
What it means for India's tech and EV industry
For India's fast-growing electronics manufacturing sector, which now assembles a large share of the world's smartphones, secure access to minerals is becoming as important as cheap labour and good infrastructure. The same is true for the electric vehicle industry and battery makers setting up gigafactories under the government's production-linked incentive schemes.
A clear stockpiling policy could reassure investors that supply shocks will not bring their production lines to a halt. Processing parks in states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, which already have mineral resources and ports, could also create local jobs and attract companies that want to refine battery materials closer to their factories.
For ordinary consumers, the impact will be indirect but real. More stable supplies of battery metals and magnets can help keep the prices of phones, EVs, solar panels and home appliances more predictable over time.
What happens next
The stockpiling policy is expected to be announced in roughly a month. Key details still to be revealed include which minerals will be stored first, how large the reserves will be, who will manage them, and how the government will fund purchases. Industry will also be watching for progress on the four processing parks and the rollout of the recycling incentives, which together will decide how quickly India can reduce its dependence on imports for the minerals that power its digital and clean-energy ambitions.
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