Securing India's energy transition

Policy changes may be needed to attract big players in mining and exploration

One of the outgoing government’s initiatives that has garnered less attention than it deserves has been its effort to secure critical minerals that are needed for India’s energy transition targets. A report in this newspaper last week highlighted India’s efforts to sign new agreements or update older ones with a dozen African countries.

Earlier this year, the Indian government signed an agreement with Argentina to acquire five lithium brine blocks for exploration and development in that country. The lithium exploration deal with Argentina is a step towards securing lithium supplies needed for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

A few months ago, the government