India's Strategic Move: Securing the Copper Pipeline

India is urged to engage proactively with major copper-producing countries like Chile, Peru, Australia, and Zambia, utilizing strategic acquisitions and partnerships to secure a sustainable copper supply chain, states a recent report.

In light of current global trends, where copper mines are concentrated in limited regions, the report highlights the critical need for diversification of global value chains and supply chains. Despite strategic overseas acquisitions by Indian companies, ample opportunities still exist to effectively employ India's foreign policy instruments and secure supply throughout the value chain.

The report emphasizes the importance of increasing collaborations beyond government-initiated initiatives, recommending business-to-business and government-to-business partnerships in areas such as exploration, technology exchange, and recycling. Leveraging existing relationships and multilateral forums is necessary to deepen economic cooperation and secure sustainable copper supply. The report also highlights the need for India to explore and extract domestic resources to meet the projected increased copper demand, which is expected to reach 3.24 million tonnes by 2030, with construction, industry, and electricity sectors leading the usage.

(With inputs from agencies.)