India has actively participated in a crucial meeting of G7 Finance Ministers in Washington, aimed at addressing the global dependency on China for critical minerals. Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw arrived in Washington to attend the G7 Critical Minerals Ministerial Meeting, emphasizing India's commitment to securing vital supply chains for its 'Viksit Bharat' development goals. The meeting, hosted by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, brought together finance ministers and senior officials from G7 advanced economies (United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada, along with the European Union), as well as invited countries including Australia, South Korea, Mexico, and India. The primary objective of these high-level discussions is to urgently reduce the reliance on China, which currently dominates a significant portion of the global critical mineral supply chain, refining between 47% and 87% of essential materials like rare earths, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and copper. These minerals are indispensable for defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy equipment, and batteries. The U.S. has been actively pushing for a dedicated dialogue on this issue since the G7 leaders' summit last summer, with a virtual meeting already held in December. India's involvement underscores its growing strategic importance as a trusted partner in building resilient and diversified global mineral supply chains, aligning with broader Western efforts to counter China's increasing use of critical mineral supply chains as a geopolitical tool. The discussions are expected to shape future cooperation on investment, stockpiling, and alternative sourcing of these strategically important minerals.