India and Canada Hold Talks on Clean Mobility and Critical Minerals

India and Canada held high-level bilateral discussions on clean mobility and critical minerals, with both nations agreeing to continue structured dialogue and cooperation in strategic industrial sectors.

The meeting on January 29, 2026, at Udyog Bhawan brought together Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy and Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson. The discussions focused on batteries, electric vehicle ecosystem development, and sustainable supply chains.

Kumaraswamy highlighted India's position in the global automobile sector, noting the country's manufacturing strength in passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, and two- and three-wheelers. He referenced the FAME-II Scheme, which has supported over 16 lakh electric vehicles and enabled creation of more than 10,900 public charging stations nationwide.

The minister outlined ongoing initiatives including the PM E-DRIVE Scheme and PM e-Bus Sewa programme, which support electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, e-trucks, charging infrastructure, and testing facilities.

A significant portion of discussions centered on battery manufacturing and critical mineral access. Kumaraswamy mentioned India's incentive programme of nearly USD 2 billion for Advanced Chemistry Cells manufacturing capability. He noted Canada's strengths in critical mineral availability and processing capabilities present opportunities for building resilient supply chains.

The minister also stated that National Mineral Development Corporation is exploring coal reserves in Canada to enhance India's steel manufacturing capacity and energy security.

Hodgson described India as a global leader in battery technologies and clean mobility solutions. He expressed Canada's willingness to share advanced battery technologies with Indian partners and acknowledged work by Indian private sector players in electric mobility and manufacturing. The Canadian minister conveyed his country's readiness to support India's requirements for lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements.

The meeting covered joint coordination frameworks and collaboration in battery cell and component manufacturing, research and development on 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 Ministry of Steel attended, including Secretary 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. Representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs and Canadian delegation members also participated.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the dialogue and agreed that structured follow-up mechanisms, technical consultations, and industry-level engagements would continue in coming months to translate discussions into concrete projects and partnerships.