India is pursuing a technology-led competitive edge in the mining and metals sector, requiring a transition from a resource-based advantage to technology-driven competitiveness, with technology integrated across the entire value chain, spanning geological exploration and mining to processing, logistics, recycling and downstream manufacturing, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, stated yesterday while addressing the 3rd edition of FICCI Conference on ‘Digitalization, AI, Automation & Technology Integration in Mining & Metals: Enhancing Competitiveness of the Sector.’ Singh further observed that the sector’s competitiveness will increasingly hinge not merely on the volume of mineral extraction or metal production, but on the efficiency, safety, sustainability and intelligence with which India transforms its geological resources into high-value, resilient and circular material supply chains.