India’s Self-Reliance Must Start Underground

Donald Trump’s economic nationalism — and the broader wave of industrial protectionism it has inspired — has pushed many nations to rethink their industrial policies from the ground up. 

India must do the same. And it has to start, not in the factory floor, but underground.


Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal has often stated, in both news media and social media, that the natural resources India is mining today are only a fraction of what lies untapped beneath its soil. He has even described India as a potential “sone ki chidiya” of natural resources. This is more than rhetoric. It is a reminder that India’s self-reliance vision will remain incomplete without a deeper focus on mineral wealth.


The Modi government’s push for self-reliance began with making finished products from imported components from foreign countries (for which it has also been jeered by foreign media). It is now shifting to producing many of those components domestically. This is progress — but in the era of aggressive industrial nationalism, even that is not enough.


Critical minerals and raw materials are the bedrock of modern industries:-

-EVs & Batteries: Lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite

-Green Energy: Rare earths for wind turbines, silicon for solar panels

-Defence: Titanium, tungsten, beryllium

-Digital Hardware: Copper, tantalum, rare earths


Without domestic mining and processing capacity for these minerals, India’s factories — no matter how advanced — will remain partly dependent on imports. And in a world where supply chains can be disrupted for strategic or political reasons, this dependency is a risk India cannot afford.


It's time for a forward-looking mineral strategy. It would mean:-

-Accelerating mineral exploration and granting clearances without unnecessary delays.

-Building processing and refining capacity within India to keep value addition at home.

-Creating strategic reserves of key minerals.

-Partnering with mineral-rich countries for overseas assets, securing supply diversity.


If India is to be truly self-reliant, it must claim sovereignty over the entire industrial value chain — from the ores beneath its feet to the finished products on the global market. The Modi government has done well to prioritise manufacturing. The next step is clear: look underground, invest there, and make the foundation of our self-reliance as strong as the bedrock itself.

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