Archive · 30 Jan 2026
India's Strategic Moves in Critical Minerals and Economic Growth
The Indian government has declared coking coal as a critical mineral to support the steel industry and reduce imports.
The Economic Survey 2025-26 highlights India's plans to expand port capacity, improve logistics, and focus on self-reliance (Swadeshi) in manufacturing.
The survey also discusses the growth of data centres, the importance of critical minerals, and strategies to boost economic growth and competitiveness.
India is investing in domestic resources like lithium and thorium to ensure energy independence and reduce reliance on imports.
The government aims to create a resilient and competitive economy through policy reforms and infrastructure development.
The Indian government has notified coking coal as a critical and strategic mineral under the MMDR Act, 1957 to reduce import dependence and strengthen the steel sector's supply chain.
India plans to expand sea cargo-handling capacity and improve port efficiency through the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision, aiming to reduce logistics costs and enhance trade competitiveness.
The Economic Survey 2025-26 emphasizes self-reliance (Swadeshi) in manufacturing and highlights the need for domestic production of essential goods to ensure economic resilience.
India's data centre capacity is projected to reach about 8 GW by 2030, driven by surging data consumption and the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI).
India is investing in domestic critical minerals like lithium and thorium to ensure energy independence and reduce reliance on imports, with significant discoveries in states like Karnataka and Jharkhand.
- Who
- Indian Government
- What
- Declared coking coal as a critical mineral and outlined economic strategies in the Economic Survey 2025-26
- When
- January 29, 2026
- Where
- India
- Why
- To reduce import dependence, strengthen supply-chain resilience, support the National Steel Policy, and enhance economic growth and competitiveness
- Date
- January 29, 2026
- Coking Coal Resources
- 37.37 billion tonnes
- Import Dependence for Coking Coal
- 95%
- Economic Growth Rate (FY26)
- 7.4%
- Inflation Rate (April-December 2025)
- 1.7%
- Data Centre Capacity (2030 Projection)
- 8 GW
- Current Data Centre Capacity (Q2 2025)
- 1.4 GW
- Lithium Discovery in Karnataka
- 1,800 tonnes
Sources
Government notifies coking coal as critical & strategic mineral
Centre to scale up port capacity, deepen multimodal links: Economic Survey
Eco Survey pitches for correction of inverted duties, lowering logistics costs
Economic Survey: India’s data centre capacity to reach about 8 GW by 2030
Economic Survey 2025-26 takes global lessons seriously—and shows why Swadeshi is the way to go
How Critical Minerals Are Anchoring India’s Rise to Global Power
Coking coal gets critical mineral status in push to cut import dependence
Budget 2026: To make India a Global Critical Mineral Powerhouse
