Ambassador Abhay Thakur signals New Delhi’s strategic pivot at Mandalay mining forum; two delegations in seven months reflect urgency to secure critical minerals. India is pursuing a deliberate strategy to source rare earth minerals from Myanmar, moving beyond diplomatic overtures to direct engagement with mining operations and rebel-controlled territories—a stark indication of how critical New Delhi views breaking free from Chinese control of the sector. The push came into sharp focus this week when India’s Ambassador to Myanmar, Abhay Thakur, addressed the opening of a mining forum in Mandalay, announcing that cooperation between New Delhi and Naypyidaw has “picked up…
Author: Ankita Moharana
The headline figures glitter—$11.5 billion, 53,500 jobs, India’s largest metallurgical investment. But in Rayagada and Sundargarh, where bulldozers haven’t arrived and no contracts have been signed, locals will spend the next eighteen months watching officials map out their land, negotiate their displacement, and decide what tomorrow looks like for communities built on mineral-rich earth. This is the part of megaproject economics that rarely makes the press release: the grinding, unglamorous work before construction begins. Adani Enterprises and Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding announced their 50-50 partnership last month to build an integrated aluminium corridor spanning the full value chain—from bauxite…