Economy

Modi's Strategic Tour: Securing Nickel Supply for India's EV Future

Monday, July 6, 2026
5 min read
Modi's Strategic Tour: Securing Nickel Supply for India's EV Future

Modi started his six-day tour Monday. He was heading to Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand. The focus there is deepening that comprehensive strategic partnership with Indonesia, meeting with President Prabowo Subianto between July 6th and 8th.

This trip isn't just diplomacy. It hits a nerve right now. India is pushing electric vehicles everywhere two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers. And the whole energy situation? The Iran-US conflict forced everyone to rethink how they manage oil and gas dependence. A real strategic pivot happening globally.

And that brings us straight to Indonesia. It’s massive supply source for nickel . That metal is crucial for EV batteries . Indonesia holds forty to forty-five percent of global nickel production. Plus, the world’s biggest known reserves.

That connection matters hugely for India right now. As India chases becoming a major EV economy over the next couple of decades, having that raw material supply smooth? It becomes a huge factor.

Nickel is the key ingredient in those lithium-ion batteries. High capacity nickel means better storage. Longer driving range. Better efficiency overall. Simple physics, but it dictates the future of transport.

But here’s where things get messy. India has some nickel reserves, mostly stuck in Odisha and Jharkhand. But extraction? Minimal. They still import almost everything they need for industry. A big gap there.

Meanwhile, China owns the supply chain. It dominates the mining and all the infrastructure around EVs. And China is moving into Indonesia's space fast. After Indonesia banned raw ore exports, Chinese companies started pouring money into those nickel processing units.

India needs to break free from that dependence on China in the EV materials. Building a strong link with Indonesia suddenly feels really important. It’s about securing access to that key ingredient for battery manufacturing. This partnership? It's high time India builds something solid there, fast.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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