Lithium

Sebi’s observations formed part of a broader order in which the regulator alleged that about 99.8% of revenue—amounting to ₹15.15 trillion—attributed to Rajesh Exports’s subsidiaries between FY21 and FY25 was materially misrepresented

India’s clean energy drive is accelerating, but constraints have emerged as geopolitics hardens (think China risk) amid a surge in demand for lithium, cobalt and rare earths for clean-tech. India mustn’t end up swapping fossil fuel reliance for other import vulnerabilities.

The phased withdrawal of China's export rebates and rising lithium costs threaten to push up battery prices for Indian electric vehicle makers.

America doesn’t have the critical minerals essential to its artificial intelligence push.

The world’s second-largest mining company bet big on lithium last year, in contrast to other major miners.

Online outrage over a ‘misdeclared’ massager may have seemed like another case of Indian red tape, but the real story lies in a creaky global codebook that can’t keep pace with modern products. Don’t blame officialdom for grey zones in the Harmonized System. It badly needs to be revised.

India’s clean energy ambitions hinge on far more than just lithium and gigafactories. As the country races to electrify, a new digital backbone in the form of a battery Aadhaar ID system could make a significant difference to the outcomes we achieve.

Amid a global scramble for rare earths, India needs to invest in extracting these from used contraptions. A PLI programme has been proposed for it, but a subsidy aimed at R&D for the tech enablers we’ll require to make a go of it could help

The lithium market may be entering uncharted territory as Trump pushes for a larger government role in developing US capacity. In a boom-and-bust sector like this, greater state intervention could hit miners, EVs, batteries, and global supply chains in unpredictable ways.

We should sharpen our approach and take finely focused measures to keep India’s goal of 30% EV penetration by 2030 within reach. Here is how we could go about it.