Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh delivered the keynote address at the 3rd Global Summit on Advanced Materials, Critical Minerals, & Metals organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi. The minister emphasized that critical minerals are fundamental to India's energy security, industrial competitiveness, and national security, stating they will drive the next phase of technological development across clean energy, electric mobility, semiconductors, telecommunications, aerospace, defence, and nuclear energy.
Dr. Singh announced India's strategic shift from being a technology follower to a confident global player in emerging technologies. He outlined the need to build capabilities across the entire value chain of critical minerals—from exploration and extraction to refining, processing, engineering, and manufacturing. This requires combining domestic resources with international partnerships while developing indigenous technologies and globally competitive benchmarks.
A significant policy development highlighted was the opening of India's nuclear sector to private players, described as an important change in India's approach to strategic technology and investment. The minister specifically invited international investors from Canada and other countries to participate in these opportunities, noting that the new framework allows for foreign collaboration and investment alongside greater domestic participation.
The minister referenced the RDI Fund initiative announced by the Prime Minister, which has now moved into implementation phase and aims to accelerate private-sector participation in strategic areas. He called for early industry linkage with research and innovation, suggesting that potential industry partners should be involved from the beginning to ensure research initiatives remain aligned with market requirements and improve commercial viability.
Dr. Singh set five broad priorities for India's strategic technology and materials ecosystem: heavy investment in research and innovation; building domestic capabilities to strengthen energy security; deeper partnerships among stakeholders; global and recycling models; and developing a stronger culture of philanthropy for research. He emphasized that building domestic capabilities is particularly crucial for energy security as the world transitions to cleaner energy sources, noting India must reduce vulnerabilities from external dependence while preparing industries for the changing global energy landscape.
The minister cited India's experience of using steel slag for road construction as an example of successful government-industry collaboration that turned waste into productive resources through innovation. He concluded by stating that India is at an important stage in its technological journey with opportunities across advanced materials, critical minerals, nuclear energy, and space sectors, requiring partnerships built with the highest integrity among government, industry, researchers, startups, investors, and international partners.