New Delhi, June 4 -- The global race for strategic minerals is rapidly reshaping international politics, trade and industrial policy. Once regarded as obscure geological commodities, minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper and rare earth elements now lie at the heart of the world economy. They power electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, semiconductors, defence technologies, telecommunications and artificial intelligence infrastructure. In the emerging green and digital economy, these minerals are increasingly becoming what oil was to the twentieth century: indispensable instruments of power.

Strategic Minerals as the New Oil

For India and South Asia, this transformation carries enormous implications. The region...