Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his apprehensions regarding the rising trend of “weaponisation” of technology and critical minerals and pointed out that the usage of technology and critical minerals as instruments of strategic coercion will stand in the way of shared economic progress. At the BRICS Summit 2026 held in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the importance of cooperation between member nations to ensure that technologies and critical minerals serve the purpose of development instead of being a source of geopolitical rivalry.
Today technology and critical minerals are playing a significant role in the economy of the world. The minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth metals play an important part in electric vehicles, renewable energy, semiconductors, batteries and other technologies. As different countries try to secure these materials, supply chain problems may arise and access may be restricted.
PM Modi stressed the need for cooperation which would result in the building up of reliable supply chains, innovations and equal access to the resources. PM Modi mentioned that BRICS nations can work together on research, manufacturing, digital technologies and critical minerals processing.
He further underscored the need for responsible use of technologies. As artificial intelligence, high-speed computing and digitization revolutionize economies, international cooperation would be vital in dealing with security, accessibility and technology imbalances.
India has increasingly been working towards building its capacity by making partnerships with other nations in order to diversify its critical supply chains. Increased cooperation among the BRICS countries can facilitate investment, exchange of ideas and development of alternative sources of strategic minerals.
This is happening in an era of major transformations in international trade and technology flows. It is essential for the emerging economies that they have a reliable access to technology and raw materials, which is crucial for their industrial development and energy transitions.
Thus, PM Modi’s statements reflect the larger requirement of the BRICS nations to promote cooperation and resilient supply chains, where the technologies and strategic minerals are used for innovation and not for exerting pressures.
