India, Jan. 12 -- The global scramble for critical minerals is no longer a future concern; it is a live strategic contest, and India is in danger of arriving late. As countries race to lock in supply chains for clean energy and digital technologies, the real battle is not over who mines the ore or who assembles the final product, but who controls the midstream - the processing stage that turns raw minerals into usable, high-purity materials. This is where power in the global economy is being consolidated, and without urgent action to build domestic processing capacity, India risks becoming permanently dependent on external actors.

Presently, the global midstream landscape is strikingly concentrated. China controls nearly 90% of processin...