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The government is set to launch a scheme worth ₹7,350 crore to bolster domestic production for sintered rare earth permanent magnets.
Sintered rare earth permanent magnets have strong magnetic properties, are high in energy and are resistant to demagnetisation which makes them critical for industries like automotives, electric vehicles, medical devices and renewable energy sources.
The deets: the initiative is in its final stages and is about to be called Scheme to Promote Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Manufacturing in India. The project is planned to run for seven years and will have production capacity of 6,000 tonnes.
The why: with this, India wants to promote indigenous production of rare earth minerals and cut down import dependence. India extensively relies on foreign countries for rare earth minerals, with China being a major supplier. In the year 2023-24 alone, India imported 1,185 tonnes of rare earth minerals, out of which 59% came from China. But amid wobbly relations, India wants to cut down this reliance.
Big theme: the significance of rare earth minerals for India is ever increasing as the country is pushing to expand renewable energy capacity and electric vehicles production. As tensions with China and tariff woes from the West flare up, there is a need to diversify the sources for meeting India’s growing rare earth minerals requirements.
For India, this is a massive opportunity as the country ranks third in critical energy reserves and is reported to have 6.9 million tonnes of untapped rare earth reserves. And initiatives like this can help India become a key supplier in this lucrative market.
