India, Canada Explore Deeper Cooperation on Critical Minerals, Batteries, and Clean Mobility

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H D Kumaraswamy held a high-level bilateral meeting with a Canadian delegation led by Tim Hodgson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, at Udyog Bhawan in New Delhi to strengthen cooperation across critical minerals, clean mobility, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable industrial development.

India’s Manufacturing and Net Zero Roadmap

During the meeting, Kumaraswamy underlined the strategic importance of India–Canada collaboration in future-facing industrial sectors. Highlighting India’s vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and its Net Zero target by 2070, the Minister said that the automotive, heavy electrical, and capital goods sectors would play a central role in supporting the country’s sustainable growth trajectory.

He noted that India currently ranks among the world’s leading manufacturers of passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, and two- and three-wheelers, reflecting the scale and depth of its industrial base.

Electric Mobility Push and Policy Support

Referring to India’s electric mobility transition, Kumaraswamy highlighted the role of government-led incentive programmes in accelerating adoption. 

“Being among the world’s leading automobile manufacturers, India has witnessed rapid adoption of electric vehicles through the FAME-II Scheme, which supported over 16 lakh electric vehicles and enabled the creation of more than 10,900 public charging stations nationwide,” he stated.

Building on this foundation, the Minister pointed to the PM E-DRIVE Scheme and the PM e-Bus Sewa initiative as key programmes supporting electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, e-trucks, charging infrastructure, and testing facilities.

Focus on Batteries and Critical Minerals

A major area of discussion was the development of a secure and resilient battery manufacturing ecosystem, alongside assured access to critical minerals required for clean energy technologies. Kumaraswamy highlighted India’s push to build domestic manufacturing capacity in advanced battery technologies.

“India has launched an ambitious incentive programme of nearly US$ 2 billion to create indigenous capability in Advanced Chemistry Cells. We appreciate Canada’s strengths not only in the availability of critical minerals but also in their processing capabilities. This presents strong opportunities for building resilient supply chains,” the Minister said.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries also confirmed that National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is exploring coal reserves in Canada to support India’s steel manufacturing capacity and enhance long-term energy security.

Canada Signals Technology and Mineral Support

The Canadian Minister Tim Hodgson expressed Canada’s willingness to collaborate closely with Indian partners, including sharing advanced battery technologies.

Hodgson described India as a global leader in battery technologies and clean mobility solutions and reiterated Canada’s readiness to support India’s requirements for lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements critical to the green transition.

Areas of Collaboration and Institutional Participation

The meeting saw detailed deliberations on joint coordination frameworks and collaboration opportunities across battery cell and component manufacturing, research and development for next-generation batteries, critical mineral supply chains, testing and certification infrastructure, clean mobility solutions, and sustainable manufacturing processes.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Ministry of Steel participated in the discussions, including Secretary, MHI Kamran Rizvi; Additional Secretary Hanif Qureshi; Joint Secretary Vijay Mittal; Joint Secretary (Steel) Vinod Kumar Tripati; CMD, NMDC Amitava Mukherjee; and CMD, BHEL K S Murthy, among others.

The talks concluded on a positive note, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the constructive and outcome-oriented dialogue. It was agreed that structured follow-up mechanisms, technical consultations, and industry-level engagements would continue in the coming months to translate the discussions into concrete projects and partnerships.