India and Brazil signed a mining cooperation pact during Brazilian President Lula da Silva's visit to New Delhi, aiming to secure raw materials for India's expanding steel sector. The agreement focuses on exploration, mining, and steel infrastructure investment, leveraging Brazil's status as a top iron ore producer.

India's steelmaking capacity currently stands at 218 million metric tons, with companies scaling up to meet rising domestic demand from infrastructure projects and industrialization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the partnership would push bilateral trade beyond $15 billion to $20 billion within five years, covering technology, AI, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure.

Brazil is India's largest trading partner in Latin America, with ties spanning trade, defense, energy, and critical minerals since 2006. The deal comes amid global competition for raw materials and India's push to reduce reliance on imports. Lula also proposed settling trade in local currencies instead of U.S. dollars, though he ruled out a BRICS common currency.