India targets rare‑earth permanent magnet production by year‑end, minister says

By Sethuraman N R

Thu, 19 February 2026 at 4:53 pm GMT+9 1 min read

By Sethuraman N R

Feb 19 (Reuters) - India aims to start producing rare earth permanent magnets ‌by the end of the year in partnership ‌with the private sector, the federal mining minister said on Thursday, ​as the Asian country seeks to lower imports of critical industrial inputs.

New Delhi approved a 73 billion rupee ($802 million) rare earth permanent magnets manufacturing programme in ‌November. The magnets are ⁠used in industries ranging from electric vehicles and aerospace to defence and renewable energy.

The ⁠mining ministry and a state-run body have developed the technology to produce permanent magnets with plans to ​set up ​four critical mineral processing ​plants across as many ‌states, minister Kishan Reddy said at an event organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

India has the world’s third-largest reserves of rare earths at 6.9 million tons, as per the U.S. Geological Survey, ‌but only mines a fraction ​because private companies make limited ​investments.

The country’s consumption of ​rare earth permanent magnets is expected ‌to double by 2030, but ​the country meets ​its demand primarily through imports.

China, which controls 90% of the processing of such magnets, restricted shipments ​last year, ‌sending automobile companies scrambling for supplies.

($1 = 91.0240 Indian ​rupees)

(Reporting by Sethuraman N R in New ​Delhi; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Terms and Privacy Policy

Privacy dashboard