The Union Government will support mineral-rich states in establishing dedicated Rare Earth Corridors aimed at promoting mining, processing, research, and manufacturing, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced.
Speaking in an interview with ANI, Vaishnaw emphasised the importance of critical minerals, rare earths, and permanent magnets for India’s manufacturing sector. He said, “Critical minerals, rare earths, and permanent magnets are a very important part of our manufacturing sector today. Establishing a rare-earth permanent magnet corridor across coastal areas will help us develop a rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing industry, which will drive sustained growth for our country.”
In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the government’s plan to support Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing these corridors. She also outlined expansions in the semiconductor sector under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), with ISM 2.0 aiming to produce equipment and materials, design full-stack Indian intellectual property, and strengthen supply chains.
“We will also focus on industry-led research and training centres to develop technology and skilled workforce. The Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, launched in April 2025 with an outlay of Rs 22,919 crore, already has investment commitments at double the target. We propose to increase the outlay to Rs 40,000 crore to capitalise on the momentum,” she added.
The government recently informed Rajya Sabha that India is not reliant on China for rare earth minerals found in Beach Sand Minerals (BSM), the principal ore for rare earths in the country. BSM contains monazite, a phosphate mineral of rare earth elements that includes uranium and thorium. Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy, produces high-purity rare earth oxides from monazite and operates integrated mining and processing facilities at three locations.
Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha that a Rare Earth Permanent Magnet plant is operational at Visakhapatnam, producing samarium cobalt magnets for strategic sectors. IREL has also established mini plants for lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium metals, alongside a rare earth element recycling plant at the Rare Earth & Titanium Theme Park in Bhopal to recover magnets from end-of-life products.
On 26 November 2025, the Union Cabinet approved a scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 7,280 crore to support manufacturing of sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM), targeting an integrated capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum. The scheme will select five beneficiaries through a global competitive bidding process employing a two-envelope system comprising technical and financial bids.
It includes a sales-linked incentive of Rs 6,450 crore and capital subsidy of Rs 750 crore over the scheme period.
Jitendra Singh stated that the initiative aims to promote domestic REPM manufacturing, reduce import dependence for critical sectors such as electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics, and defence, as well as create employment opportunities and strengthen domestic value chains.