Critical minerals have become the essential drivers of modern economic growth, facilitating the green energy transition and advancing technological advancement. Given their importance in global manufacturing and developing clean energy grids to achieve net-zero goals, procurement of critical minerals is indispensable. As demand for modern electronics like semiconductors, smartphones, and computers increases, the demand for rare earth elements proliferates.
Realising this and ensuring assimilation of rare earth elements in its development agenda, India has launched the National Critical Mineral Mission. The mission not only helps in its journey towards green transition by fuelling solar photovoltaic cells, wind turbine permanent magnets, and electric vehicle (EV) batteries, but also plays a crucial role in national security by manufacturing advanced defence tech, including radar, sonar, guidance systems, and hypersonic engines.
Apart from domestic exploration, India is ambitiously forming multiple bilateral alliances for their procurement. The procurement of critical minerals also helps India in strengthening its supply chain, mitigating excessive vulnerabilities to external supply shocks and the excessive dominance of China. In this regard, India has also begun strategic attempts to secure critical rare earth minerals from northern Myanmar.
The boom in rare earth mineral production in Myanmar is unprecedented, making it the third largest producer of these minerals. As a result, India has been involved in navigating complex geopolitics with Myanmar along with logistical and environmental, while challenging the almost-monopoly of China in mineral processing . As Beijing tightens of critical mineral exports, India considers Myanmar’s deposits as a vital strategic alternative. Consequently, since 2024, cooperation in the mining sector has gained significant momentum between the two nations.
In June 2026, the two governments took measures to deepen collaboration in critical and rare minerals, along with trade, security and connectivity. Leveraging longstanding historical, cultural and people-to-people connections, India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing engaged in talks in New Delhi . Following the high-level meetings, in July 2026, the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar spoke about the growing bilateral collaboration and informed that cooperation in rare earths and critical minerals has received high-level attention from the leadership of both our countries. This high-level engagement is a starting point for a renewed impetus for expanding collaboration in the mining and minerals sector, including in rare earths and other critical minerals, through technical exchanges, business partnerships and capacity-building initiatives.
However, there are several challenges ahead. This includes the lack of infrastructure for transporting raw materials out of landlocked, rugged, and conflict-ridden areas across the India-Myanmar frontier. Given that the minerals are under the control of ethnic armed groups like the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), it creates friction with Myanmar’s military personnel. This leads to a complicated situation in India’s broader diplomatic balance in the region.
The way ahead involves strengthening cooperation with the Myanmar administration along with enhancing commercial, logistical and technical collaboration. Myanmar is India’s long-term strategic partner, involving sustained engagement between relevant agencies in both nations, along with policy appropriate to Myanmar’s evolving political landscape.
New Delhi’s strategy is an essential push to de-risk the supply chain, given Beijing’s excessive control. However, given the risks involved in controlling minerals and logistics, there is a lot on the plate to sort out. As experts call it India’s high-risk, high-reward gamble, it also reflects India’s endeavours to mitigate global supply chain uncertainties, while playing a central role in the global energy and technology transition.
Sun Lee is a pseudonym for a writer who covers Asia and geopolitical affairs.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mizzima Media.
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