Rare Earths supply: India steps up mining, refining to safeguard EV future

The Centre Tuesday sought to secure the supply chain for rare-earth materials, used in the manufacturing of electronics and electric cars, holding meetings among various connected ministries and reviewing their local availability.

"This inter-ministerial effort will pave the way for India's self-reliance in strategic materials crucial for electric vehicles (EVs), electronics, defence and other sectors," steel and heavy industries minister HD Kumaraswamy said in a statement.

The deliberations are part of efforts to mitigate the impact of China curtailing permanent magnet supplies, threatening to stall the production of electric vehicles (EV) in India.

These permanent magnets are derived out of rare earth elements (REEs), vital for power windows, speakers, propulsion systems in electric vehicles, and generators in renewable energy infrastructure, among others.

Coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy and Kumaraswamy jointly chaired these meetings that also drew participation of officials linked to Atomic Energy and commerce ministries.

In a post on X, Reddy said discussions focused on strengthening the value chain, from mining to refining and then to end-use.

To speed up domestic production, the government is planning amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act for supporting the critical mineral mission.

Besides regulatory tweaks, the centre is also expecting commercially viable domestic production of rare earth permanent magnets in small quantities later this year.