India's Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets: A Step Towards Self-Reliance

Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your UPSC Current Affairs knowledge nugget for today on Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets. ( Relevance: Rare earths play a crucial role in economic development and national security. Also, in 2020, the UPSC asked questions regarding the official designation of major minerals in India. Given the recent developments and growing importance of critical minerals, this topic has become significant for your UPSC exam.) In her Budget 2026-27 speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed the establishment of dedicated rare earth corridors in India’s coastal states Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu . The finance minister said the proposal is in line with the recently announced scheme to promote the manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM). In this context, it becomes essential to know about the REPM and their significance. 1. Under the ‘Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets’ , the government aims to support 6,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of integrated REPM manufacturing capacity, which will be allocated among five beneficiaries selected through a competitive bidding process, with each eligible for up to 1,200 MTPA. 2. Selected beneficiaries will receive sales-linked incentives worth Rs 6,450 crore over five years, along with a capital subsidy of Rs 750 crore to set up integrated REPM facilities. 3. In a press statement, the government said this new scheme aims to enhance the country’s self-reliance and position it as a key player in the global REPM market. India currently depends heavily on China for these magnets. During 2024-25, India imported over 53,000 tonnes of rare earth magnets, with over 90 per cent coming from China. India’s consumption of rare earth permanent magnets is expected to double by 2030. 4. The scheme specifically focuses on “sintered rare-earth permanent magnets”, which are primarily neodymium, iron and boron (NdFeB) magnets , considered the strongest and most commercially demanded. 5. These magnets use light rare-earth elements like neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), combined with iron (Fe) and boron (B), for their strong magnetic properties. They also use heavy rare-earth elements such as dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) to improve susceptibility to demagnetisation, especially at high temperatures. 6. The production of these magnets involves various steps: mining, beneficiation, processing, extraction, refining to rare earth oxide, conversion of oxides to metal, then metal to alloy, and finally magnet manufacturing. The scheme aims to support integrated REPM manufacturing facilities which are capable of undertaking final three stages: Converting rare earth oxide to metal, metal to alloy, and alloy to REPM. 7. Notably, these high-strength REPMs are crucial for a wide range of technologies – from electric vehicles and renewable energy systems to electronics, aerospace, and defence applications. Yet, their manufacturing is concentrated in just a handful of countries, with China alone controlling over 90 per cent in both manufacturing and processing of raw material needed to produce these magnets. 1. India launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January for a period of seven years from 2024-25 to 2030-31. With a proposed outlay of Rs 16,300 crore, it aims to secure India’s critical mineral supply chain by ensuring reliable access to key minerals at home and overseas, and strengthening the entire value chain by improving technology, regulation and financing for exploration, mining, processing and recycling. 2. India has set up a Joint Venture company named Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) for exploring critical mineral assets in foreign countries. KABIL has signed an Exploration and Development Agreement with Camyen, a state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province of Argentina, for exploration and mining of five Lithium Brine Blocks in Argentina. 3. In 2023, India identified 30 minerals as “critical” . The same year, the government also amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957 , empowering the central government to exclusively auction critical and strategic minerals like lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements etc. Since then, the government has auctioned 34 critical mineral blocks in the country. 1. Rare Earth Elements (REEs) or Rare Earth Metals are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table — the 15 lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium, which tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides, and have similar chemical properties. REEs are classified as light RE elements (LREE) and heavy RE elements (HREE). 2. The 17 Rare Earths are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y). 3. Some REEs are available in India — such as Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, Praseodymium and Samarium , etc. Others such as Dysprosium, Terbium, and Europium, which are classified as HREEs, are not available in Indian deposits in extractable quantities. Hence, there is a dependence on countries such as China for HREEs, which is one of the leading producers of REEs, with an estimated 70 per cent share of the global production. Which of the following rare earth elements are used to improve resistance to demagnetisation of REPMs, especially at high temperatures? 1. Dysprosium 2. Terbium 3. Neodymium 4. Praseodymium Select the correct answer using the code below: (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 and 4 only (c) 1, 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Sources: Why the push for Rare Earth Corridors in Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh , Amid China’s chokehold, how India’s Rs 7,280-crore rare earth magnets push seeks some wriggle room ) Topic: India’s Union Budget 2026–27 has set ambitious targets but what do they really signal for the economy, markets, and investors? Express Explained.Live, where we decode the big themes and critical questions emerging from the Budget: Budget estimates GDP to grow 10% in nominal terms. What does it mean for the Indian economy. Why did the stock markets witness the second biggest fall among all NDA Budgets? Policy makers are concerned about foreign capital strike. Does the Budget have measures to attract FII/ FDI inflows? Government continues to do the heavy lifting in capital spending with a 11.5% increase in capex. What are the expectations from the private sector? How does India rank globally on the new fiscal metric of debt-to-GDP ratio? Join us in the next edition of Explained.Live with Prachi Mishra, Professor of Economics, Director and Head, Isaac Centre for Public Policy, Ashoka University in conversation with Sidharth Upasani, Deputy Associate Editor, The Indian Express Register now: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/8417700282116/WN_a0KekEOLQyyL2oyhMTDL4g February 4, 2026 | 6:00 PM | Zoom Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for January 2026. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@ indianexpress.com 🚨