"80-90% comes from China": Shaktikanta Das on China's rare earth curbs & India's self-reliance plan

Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister of India, spoke about India's push for self-reliance in rare earth magnets at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026 in New Delhi.Referring to the restrictions imposed by China, Das said it was a problem for almost the whole world, with almost 80 to 90% of rare earth magnet supply and the entire ecosystem originating in China. He said the central government responded immediately with a major initiative to develop domestic capacity in rare earth permanent magnets, a critical component for automobile manufacturing, electronic hardware manufacturing and much other manufacturing.Das also said the cabinet has approved the Samudra Manthan scheme and that the distinction between no-go and go zones has now been removed.