India’s ₹7,300 crore plan to boost rare earth magnet production, crucial for EVs, wind turbines, and defence tech is facing setbacks. China has tightened export rules on key equipment usedfor processing rare earth elements, making it harder and costlier for India to get the machinery it needs.
The restrictions include centrifugal extraction machines and impurity-removal systems, both vital for processing rare earth ores. Chinese exporters now need special licences and must declare if the equipment could be used for military purposes.
China claims the move is to protect national security, but it’s also seen as a way to maintain control over global rare earth supply chains. India’s rare earth scheme, cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee, plans ₹6,500 crore for capital investment and ₹800 crore for operational support, awaiting Cabinet approval.
The goal: to build a fully domestic ecosystem for making rare earth magnets, with a target production of 6,000 tonnes annually over seven years. India’s ₹7,300 crore plan to boost rare earth magnet production, crucial for EVs, wind turbines, and defence tech is facing setbacks.
China has tightened export rules on key equipment used for processing rare earth elements, making it harder and costlier for India to get the machinery it needs. The restrictions include centrifugal extraction machines and impurity-removal systems, both vital for processing rare earth ores.
Chinese exporters now need special licences and must declare if the equipment could be used for military purposes. China claims the move is to protect national security, but it’s also seen as a way to maintain control over global rare earth supply chains. India’s rare earth scheme, cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee, plans ₹6,500 crore for capital investment and ₹800 crore for operational support, awaiting Cabinet approval. The goal: to build a fully domestic ecosystem for making rare earth magnets, with a target production of 6,000 tonnes annually
over seven years.
However, India still depends heavily on Chinese machinery, and importing from other countries like Germany or Japan could be much costlier. Industry experts warn this could delay projects and make India’s incentive scheme less viable. The plan aims to turn NdPr oxide into sintered NdFeB magnets, used in EVs, wind energy, electronics, and defence.
China currently dominates the sector, accounting for 61% of global production and 92% of processing capacity. Nearly 50 applications are pending under India’s scheme, but progress may slow as sourcing equipment becomes more difficult.