New Delhi, May 17 -- The wars India watches from a distance are now beginning to shape the choices it makes at home. With the Strait of Hormuz crisis disrupting energy flows and commodity markets turning volatile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his Secunderabad speech this week to deliver an unusually direct message: India can no longer afford strategic dependence. Alongside calls to reduce fuel consumption and unnecessary gold purchases, he pointed to a less discussed vulnerability, copper. He noted that India is now spending precious foreign exchange importing a metal it once produced domestically.
That warning about copper deserves far more attention than it has received amid the wider focus on Modi's remarks about fuel consumption and imports.
Copper is no longer just an industrial metal. It is the backbone of the energy transition. Electric vehicles use far more copper than conventional automobiles. Solar plants, wind turbines, power grids, battery storage systems and data centers are all copper intensive. Every ambition India has announced, from renewable energy expansion to semiconductor manufacturing, depends on reliable access to copper.
Yet India's copper story over the last few years has been one of decline. The country, once a net exporter of refined copper, has turned into a net importer after the closure of the Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi in 2018. The plant alone accounted for nearly 40 per cent of India's copper smelting capacity. Its shutdown did not reduce India's demand for copper. It merely shifted dependence outward.
The numbers reflect the cost of that decision. Government data showed that refined copper imports rose from 44,245 tonnes in 2017-18 to 92,290 tonnes in 2018-19 after the plant's closure, while exports sharply declined. India, which had recorded net exports of over 3.3 lakh tonnes earlier, moved into a net import position within a year.
India's copper imports have risen sharply over the years, even as global competition for critical minerals intensifies. Industry estimates suggest domestic demand could more than double by 2030 due to electrification and infrastructure growth. Meanwhile, countries across the world are aggressively securing supply chains for critical minerals and industrial metals and increasingly treating them as strategic assets rather than ordinary commodities.
At the same time, the debate around copper production in India has also evolved. Discussions around the possible restart of Sterlite are now increasingly centered on whether India can build a modern, globally competitive and environmentally sustainable copper ecosystem. Recent proposals placed before the Madras High Court for a green copper restart have emphasised upgraded emission controls, tighter hazardous waste protocols, expanded desalination and water recycling systems, independent third-party audits and greater community oversight mechanisms.
Modi's remarks in Secunderabad suggested an attempt to shift that conversation. He framed the issue not just as an industrial concern but as a broader question of national priorities. Referring to the shutdown of copper plants and the resulting import dependence, he urged labour groups and industrial stakeholders to ensure that disruptions do not come at the cost of India's long-term strategic interests and self-reliance.
This is why the Prime Minister's comments matter. They reflect a growing recognition within the government that self-reliance cannot stop at slogans about manufacturing. It must extend to the raw materials that make manufacturing possible in the first place.
Reopening Sterlite would not merely be about restarting a plant. It would signal that India is finally willing to treat copper as a strategic sector. Atmanirbhar Bharat cannot coexist with rising dependence on imported critical metals.
For years, India's self-reliance debate has focused on finished products. The next phase will be decided by whether the country can secure the resources underneath them. Copper sits at the center of that challenge. And increasingly, at the center of India's economic future.
The writer is a senior journalist and columnist. Views expressed are personal
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.