At the BRICS 2026 summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that weaponising technology and critical minerals could stall the world’s progress. He told fellow leaders that trust, not coercion, must decide how nations share resources and innovation. The remarks came as heads of state from Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa and newer BRICS partners gathered under India’s presidency this week.
Key Takeaways
- PM Modi used his BRICS 2026 summit address to caution against the “weaponisation” of technology and critical minerals by powerful blocs.
- He called for fair, rules-based access to rare earths, lithium and cobalt for developing economies, not just the wealthiest nations.
- India used the platform to push its own critical minerals push, including the National Critical Mineral Mission and semiconductor manufacturing plans.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin’s presence added weight to discussions on de-dollarisation and reducing dependence on Western-controlled supply chains.
What Did PM Modi Say At The BRICS 2026 Summit?
Modi‘s core message was simple, even if the politics behind it are not. He argued that when a handful of countries control the chips, software or minerals that everyone else needs, that control can be turned into a weapon. Sanctions, export bans and sudden licensing curbs, he said, hurt ordinary people in developing nations far more than they hurt the countries that impose them.
He framed this as a question of fairness rather than confrontation. Technology transfer and mineral trade, in his telling, should run on predictable rules — not on the mood of whichever government happens to hold the leverage that week. That framing matters for a bloc like BRICS, which now represents a large share of the world’s population and a growing share of its resource base.
Why This Language Now
The timing isn’t accidental. Export controls on semiconductors, rare-earth magnets and battery-grade graphite have all made headlines over the past two years, often catching manufacturers in India, Brazil and Southeast Asia off guard. Modi’s speech at the BRICS 2026 summit essentially named that pattern out loud, in front of the countries most affected by it.
Why Does ‘Weaponisation’ Of Critical Minerals Worry India?
India isn’t a major producer of the minerals that power modern electronics — lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths used in magnets for wind turbines and electric motors. It imports most of them, often through a supply chain that runs through a small number of processing hubs.
That concentration is the real risk. It’s not that India lacks money to buy these materials; it’s that a policy decision made in one capital can suddenly choke off supply everywhere else. For a country trying to scale up electric vehicles, defence manufacturing and solar power at the same time, that kind of exposure is uncomfortable.
Who Attended The BRICS 2026 Summit In New Delhi?
Alongside Modi, the summit drew Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose visit was widely covered given the ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as leaders and senior representatives from China, Brazil, South Africa, and newer BRICS members such as Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE. The expanded guest list reflects how much the bloc has grown since it added several Global South economies over the past two years.
| Country | Represented By | Key Interest at Summit |
| India (host) | PM Narendra Modi | Fair tech access, critical minerals, digital public infrastructure |
| Russia | President Vladimir Putin | Sanctions relief, alternative trade settlement systems |
| China | Senior leadership delegation | Rare earth trade rules, tech cooperation |
| Brazil | Senior leadership delegation | Agricultural exports, mineral partnerships |
| South Africa | Senior leadership delegation | Mining investment, energy transition |
How Dependent Is India On Imported Critical Minerals?
Industry estimates suggest India imports the overwhelming majority of the lithium, cobalt and nickel it needs for batteries, and relies heavily on a handful of countries for processed rare earths used in magnets and electronics. China alone accounts for a large share of global rare-earth refining capacity, which is precisely the kind of concentration Modi referenced without naming any single country directly.
- Lithium: almost entirely imported, mostly as refined compounds or finished cells.
- Cobalt: sourced through international traders, with limited domestic refining capacity.
- Rare earth magnets: a small number of countries handle most of the world’s processing.
- Graphite and nickel: partially domestic, but high-grade material still comes from abroad.
What Is India’s Plan To Cut This Dependence?
India has been building a response for a while now, and the BRICS 2026 summit gave Modi a stage to talk it up. The National Critical Mineral Mission, along with incentives for battery and semiconductor manufacturing, aims to build domestic processing capacity rather than just digging up ore and shipping it out. India has also signed exploration and supply agreements with resource-rich countries in Africa and Latin America to diversify beyond any single source.
None of this happens overnight. Refining rare earths and building battery-grade material plants takes years and serious capital. But the direction is clear — India wants options, not dependence on any one supplier or any one political relationship. For more background on how BRICS itself evolved into this kind of forum, Wikipedia’s overview of BRICS traces its growth from a loose grouping of four economies into today’s expanded bloc.
What Does This Mean For Everyday Indians?
Talk of critical minerals and technology sovereignty can sound like it belongs entirely to boardrooms and ministries. It doesn’t. Ask a solar-pump dealer in a district like Bikaner why battery prices jumped last year, or a small EV-parts supplier near Pune why a shipment got delayed for weeks, and the answer usually traces back to something that happened thousands of kilometres away — an export curb, a shipping bottleneck, a sudden price spike in lithium carbonate.
That’s the quieter, less-covered side of a summit speech like this one. When leaders argue about mineral access in a conference hall in Delhi, the ripple eventually reaches a fertiliser cooperative in Punjab or a mobile-repair shop in a small UP town, both of which depend on components and inputs built from the same global supply chains being discussed. Rural India, in particular, often gets left out of this conversation — even though it absorbs the shocks first, through costlier machinery, delayed solar installations and pricier farm equipment.
FAQ
What is the BRICS 2026 summit about?
It’s the annual leaders’ summit of the BRICS bloc, held in New Delhi this year under India’s presidency, covering trade, technology, critical minerals and de-dollarisation among other issues.
What did PM Modi mean by ‘weaponisation’ of technology?
He was referring to countries using control over advanced tech or scarce minerals as political leverage — for example, restricting exports to pressure another nation — rather than trading them under stable, predictable rules.
Which critical minerals is India most dependent on imports for?
Lithium, cobalt and processed rare earths are the biggest gaps, with India relying on a small number of countries for refined material.
Did Vladimir Putin attend the BRICS 2026 summit?
Yes, Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to New Delhi for the summit, drawing significant attention given the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
What is India’s National Critical Mineral Mission?
It’s a government programme aimed at boosting domestic exploration, mining and processing of critical minerals, reducing India’s reliance on imports for battery and electronics manufacturing.
The BRICS 2026 summit made one thing obvious: the fight over who controls tomorrow’s technology and minerals is really a fight over leverage. For India, the takeaway isn’t just diplomatic posturing — it’s a nudge to build the mines, refineries and factories that keep that leverage from ever reaching a village solar pump or a small workshop.