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 a significant policy shift with India opening its nuclear sector to private players, describing this as an important change in India's approach to strategic technology and investment. He explicitly invited international investors and industry, including from Canada, to participate in these emerging opportunities, noting that the new framework allows for foreign collaboration and investment alongside greater domestic participation.
The Minister highlighted that India must build capabilities across the entire critical minerals value chain—from exploration and extraction to refining, processing, engineering, and manufacturing. He stressed the need to combine domestic resources optimally with international resources while developing indigenous technologies and globally competitive benchmarks simultaneously.
Dr Singh referenced the RDI Fund initiative announced by the Prime Minister, confirming it has now moved into implementation phase, and stated such initiatives can accelerate private-sector participation in strategic areas where industry has traditionally been hesitant to invest. He called for early industry linkage with research and innovation, suggesting potential industry partners should be engaged right from the beginning to ensure research initiatives remain aligned with market requirements and improve commercial viability prospects.
The Minister outlined 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 a stronger culture of philanthropy for research. He specifically urged industry and leading business houses to recognize research as an important form of philanthropy that contributes to humanity's welfare.
Dr Singh cited India's experience of using steel slag for road construction as a successful example of government-industry collaboration turning waste into productive resource through innovation and appropriate technology. He concluded by emphasizing that India is now much more confident about assuming a global role in emerging technologies and called for partnerships built with the highest integrity among government, industry, researchers, startups, investors, and international partners.