India’s Mineral Diplomacy in Plurilateral Forums in 2026: Convergence and Divergence at BRICS+ and the QUAD

Sep 23, 2026 | Policy Brief

Rati Verma and Sagar K. Chourasia

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Executive Summary

Critical minerals- lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and rare earths- have moved quickly from the periphery of trade policy to the centre of discussions on clean energy, advanced manufacturing and economic security. This shift is increasingly visible across plurilateral forums: the QUAD, through its QUAD Critical Minerals Initiative (QCMI), tends to approach the issue through trusted supply chains and economic resilience, while BRICS engages it more through industrial development and Global South cooperation. For India, involved in both groupings, this reflects a longstanding orientation: its pursuit of strategic autonomy has long relied on multi-vector engagement, and critical minerals appear a natural extension of that approach.

This brief outlines that India’s mineral diplomacy is perhaps best understood not as a choice between competing blocs, but as a form of value-chain segmentation undertaken in service of that autonomy. BRICS+ appears to support India’s access to upstream resources, development finance and Global South coalition building, while the QUAD offers pathways toward processing technologies, regulatory alignment and trusted partner capital. Taken together, the two platforms seem to serve largely complementary roles, allowing India to build capability across the value chain without depending too heavily on any single partner.

However, a degree of complexity is worth noting, though it appears manageable. India’s participation in a QUAD initiative aimed at diversifying away from concentrated supply sources sits alongside its presidency of BRICS+, where China remains a prominent member. This may reflect less a contradiction than the different registers at which the two forums tend to operate i.e. more technical and transactional in the QUAD and more agenda setting and normative in BRICS+.

Strategic autonomy for India is not about avoiding entanglement altogether, but about ensuring that its various partnerships never collapse into dependence on any one of them, with sustained coordination across these arrangements likely to determine how well this balance holds.

Author

  • Rati Verma

    Rati Verma is a Consultant at the Climate and Sustainability Initiative (CSI). Her work focuses on the intersection of critical minerals, geopolitics, and sustainable finance, with a particular emphasis on analysing supply-chain vulnerabilities and market dynamics to inform strategic policy decisions. She brings a macro-level, policy-driven perspective to research, ensuring alignment with global standards while remaining grounded in India’s strategic priorities.

    Before joining CSI, Rati worked as a Research Consultant at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and as a Policy Research Assistant at the World Intellectual Foundation. Through these roles, she developed expertise in geopolitical risk analysis, critical mineral supply-chain security, and global policy interpretation. She has co-authored key research outputs, including an issue brief on rare earth magnet manufacturing and a study on India–Australia rare earth element supply chains.

    Rati holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. She has further strengthened her policy expertise through a certification in the Politics and Policy of Artificial Intelligence from the Takshashila Institution and through rigorous preparation for the Civil Services Examination.

    Outside of work, Rati maintains a disciplined fitness routine that supports physical and mental resilience. She enjoys travelling and playing badminton, which help her maintain balance alongside her research work.