India must rethink critical minerals strategy to safeguard national security: CIDS Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit
New Delhi, December 19. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has underscored the need for innovative and unconventional solutions to secure India’s critical mineral supply chains, warning that growing geopolitical competition and supply disruptions pose serious risks to national security and defence preparedness.
Speaking at the fourth edition of Tech Talk here, a high-level roundtable organised by IP Bazzaar in association with the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), Air Marshal Dixit said India must move beyond traditional approaches to address vulnerabilities in the availability of minerals vital for defence platforms, clean energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.
“Critical minerals are the new oil for the world,” Air Marshal Dixit said. “Fifty-five percent are in 15 countries.”
Without naming China, Air Marshal Dixit pointed out to the fact that one country alone has 80 percent of the world’s critical minerals.
“We need to explore overseas assets,” he said. “The landscape of critical minerals is changing.”
Air Marshal Dixit also inaugurated 30 technical reports on critical minerals, mapping the intellectual property landscape and market trends relevant to India’s strategic interests.
The closed-door, by-invitation forum, held in New Delhi on December 17 brought together policymakers, industry leaders, defence experts, technology innovators and intellectual property professionals to deliberate on ‘Minerals That Matter: Geopolitics, Sovereignty & Value Chains’.
Against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical volatility, supply chain fragilities and the global race for energy transition materials, participants discussed strategies to strengthen national sovereignty and build resilient, value-added ecosystems for minerals essential to defence, electronics and clean energy sectors. The discussions highlighted the urgent need for policy coherence, public-private collaboration and innovation-led frameworks to reduce India’s dependence on external suppliers.
A strong emphasis was placed on the role of intellectual property in incentivising indigenous technologies, recycling solutions and alternative materials. Panellists stressed the importance of aligning national missions with global strategies while safeguarding India’s long-term strategic and economic interests.
The roundtable featured senior stakeholders from government, industry, academia and strategic sectors, including Ranjana Nallamalli, Director, Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management, DRDO, AVM A Suresh Kumar (Retd), Principal Consultant and Advisor, DRDO, Manish Kukreti, Founder, Vyom Space Exploration and Services, Biplob Chatterjee, CEO and Director, Geovale Services, Channamallikarjun B Patil, Director, GeoExpOre, Nitin Gupta, Co-founder, Attero Recycling, Rohan Dange, Founder, Roundtable IAS, Sriparna Pathak, Professor of China Studies at OP Jindal Global University, and Sandeep Tripathi, Founding Director, Forum for Global Studies.
Key themes included the geopolitics of critical minerals, circular economy approaches, emerging technologies, global partnerships and IP-driven competitiveness.
CENJOWS Director General Maj Gen (Dr) Ashok Kumar (Retd), highlighted the evolving strategic geopolitical landscape and the necessity of developing indigenous, cutting-edge technologies to address critical mineral supply chain challenges, calling for innovation backed by strong IP support to make India Atmanirbhar (Self-reliance) in the global critical minerals race.
IP Bazzaar Co-founder Lalit Ambastha said India’s critical minerals challenge was “not geological, but technological, intellectual and systemic”.
Supported by platinum partner Attero Recycling Pvt Ltd, the fourth edition of Tech Talk reaffirmed IP Bazzaar’s commitment to strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem by convening key stakeholders and facilitating informed dialogue on pressing national and global challenges.
