Exploring options for rare earth magnet supplies: H D Kumaraswamy

India is exploring options to ese the ongoing disruption in supply of rare earth magnets, heavy industries minister H D Kumaraswamy said Tuesday. "We are working on it (addressing the rare earth magnet crisis)," the minister told reporters.

"Midwest, a Hyderabad-based company, has shown interest. They are targeting 500-tonne rare earth magnet production by this year-end, aiming for 5,000 tonne production in the next year," he said.

Meanwhile, officials said an incentive scheme for rare earth magnets is likely to be launched for subsidising processing units.


India's own rare earth magnet production is also expected to increase in the coming two years, said officials aware of plans. Homegrown automakers had red-flagged curbs on supplies of rare earth-derived permanent magnets. Rare earth magnets are used in about a dozen critical parts used in electric vehicle motors as well as vehicle speed detection and automatic gear shifting systems.

Queried on the current situation, one of the officials said, "As of today, things look better. Nobody has come back to us saying I am halting production." Kumaraswamy's comments follow a meeting earlier in the day between national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing.

In a statement, a spokesperson for China's foreign affairs ministry said, "China and India should adhere to the important consensus that both sides are opportunities for each other's development, pose no threat to one another, and are partners rather than rivals."

Indian government officials further said domestic companies can also import fully assembled components from China without any restriction.

"Existing government incentive schemes such as those for auto component and electric vehicle manufacturing already have exemptions for allowing these imports," another official said.

Besides importing minerals, India is also preparing to incentivise domestic processing of rare earth supply chains.

Explaining the need for incentives, the official said, "There is a hardly 5% difference in prices of rare earth oxides and rare earth magnets...China wants to maintain its monopoly by keeping the price of magnets very low."