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India, Chile struggle to clear critical-mineral hurdle in CEPA talks
വാർത്തയിൽ എന്തുകൊണ്ട്?
The world's top copper producer is stalling India's trade deal: the CEPA critical-minerals puzzle for GS2
Critical minerals slow the India–Chile CEPA; India–Canada talks enter a fifth round.
Why it matters: asked in UPSC 2025; factual, Prelims-type
What you need to know
2 മിനിറ്റ്
India and Chile are finding critical minerals a difficult area in their talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Separately, India and Canada begin the fifth round of talks on a proposed economic partnership agreement on 5 October.
Chile is the world's largest copper producer and a major source of lithium.
ഉറവിടങ്ങൾ: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
പ്രധാന വസ്തുതകൾ
Remember these
- India and Chile are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA); critical minerals are proving a difficult area.
- Chile is the world's largest copper producer and a major source of lithium.
- India and Canada begin the fifth round of talks on a proposed economic partnership agreement on 5 October.
- A CEPA goes beyond trade in goods to cover services, investment and economic cooperation.
പ്രിലിംസ് · മെയിൻസ്
How the exam will ask it
പ്രിലിംസ്
- Chile is the world's largest producer of copper and a major source of lithium, both important for the energy transition.
- A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement typically covers trade in goods, services, investment and cooperation, going beyond a basic free trade agreement.
- Critical minerals are those whose supply is concentrated and whose scarcity can hurt a country's manufacturing and clean-energy goals.
മെയിൻസ്
GS2 (International Relations) and GS3 (Economy): India seeks secure supplies of critical minerals such as lithium and copper for batteries and clean energy, and trade agreements like the India–Chile CEPA are a route to them. Negotiating hurdles include market access and resource-sector terms, while parallel talks with Canada show India's push to diversify partners. The way forward lies in balanced agreements, overseas mineral asset acquisition and domestic processing capacity.
PYQ connection
A question UPSC has already asked on this
Consider the following statements: I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member. II. India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified. III. The Parliament in 2023 has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite license for certain critical minerals. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- I and II only
- II and III only
- I and III only
- I, II and III
ഉത്തരം കാണിക്കൂ
ഉത്തരം: C
Why this matters: today's issue is directly connected to a concept UPSC has already tested. Read the story with this question in mind.
Practise this PYQ →Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
Chile, with which India is negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that covers critical minerals, is the world's largest producer of which metal?
- Cobalt
- Nickel
- Tin
- Copper
ഉത്തരം കാണിക്കൂ
ഉത്തരം: D — Correct: Copper — Chile is the world's largest copper producer and also a major source of lithium, which is why critical minerals feature in the talks. • Cobalt — wrong: Cobalt production is dominated by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not Chile. • Nickel — wrong: Nickel production is led by Indonesia, not Chile. • Tin — wrong: Tin is mined mainly in China and Indonesia, not Chile.
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