Critical Mineral projects are often technically credible yet remain difficult to finance. Conventional bankability assessments emphasise resource confidence, metallurgy, engineering studies and financial metrics. These remain essential, but they do not fully address the commercial and strategic uncertainties that now shape investment decisions. This paper argues that modern bankability is created through the integration of technical readiness, commercial readiness, market alignment, offtake strategy, strategic financing and environmental, social and governance preparedness. Early customer engagement can validate product specifications and demand; appropriately structured offtake can improve revenue visibility; and strategic investors can contribute capital, market access and downstream alignment. The paper also considers India’s emerging role as a major industrial consumer and potential long-term partner in global Critical Mineral supply chains. An integrated framework is proposed to help developers identify and close bankability gaps throughout the project development cycle. The central proposition is that bankability is not a single feasibility-stage milestone, but a progressive process of reducing technical, commercial and strategic uncertainty.