Parliament Question: Assessment of Rare Earth Permanent Management Scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 442 ANSWERED ON 21.07.2026 ASSESSMENT OF RARE EARTH PERMANENT MANAGEMENT SCHEME 442. SMT. APARAJITA SARANGI: Will the Minister of HEAVY INDUSTRIES be pleased to state: (a) Whether the Government has undertaken a sector-wise assessment of the dependence of industries covered under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme on imported upstream and midstream critical inputs, including Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (repms), semiconductor- grade materials and other strategic components, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether it is a fact that, despite the Geological Survey of India (GSI) identifying about 482.6 million tonnes of rare earth ore resources, India continues to meet around 60–80 per cent (by value) and 85–90 per cent (by quantity) of its Rare Earth Permanent Magnet requirement through imports from China during 2022–23 to 2024–25, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has assessed the risks posed to PLI-supported sectors such as electric vehicles, electronics, renewable energy and defence manufacturing due to dependence on imported critical upstream and midstream inputs in the event of global supply-chain disruptions or geopolitical developments; and (d) if so, the details thereof; ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SHRI BHUPATHIRAJU SRINIVASA VARMA) (a): Yes, an assessment of Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) demand in India was done by IREL (India) Limited, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The estimated segment – wise requirement for REPM for the year 2030 is as under:- S. No. Sector Requirement in MTPA for the year 2030 1 Electric Vehicles (2/3/4 Wheelers) 3250 2 Industrial Motors for different 500 applications 3 BLDC Fans 980 4 Smart Phones & Computers 600 5 Solar-powered Pumps 170 6 Elevators Motors and Escalator 100 Motors 7 Other Applications (Consumer 820 electronics, etc.) 8 Wind Turbine 1800 9 Total Consolidated Demand in India 8220-2- (b): As on date, Geological Survey of India (GSI) has augmented cumulative Rare Earth Element (REE) ore resources totaling 767 million tonnes across the country, evaluated at different cut-off values and average grades since MMDR Amendment Act, 2015. While India possesses upstream capabilities in mining, separation and oxide refining, there is a notable gap in the industrial-scale midstream capabilities needed for oxide-to-metal, metal-to-alloy and alloy-to-magnet conversion. Due to this, India currently imports all its sintered NdFeB REPM demand for downstream applications. In order to bridge this gap, the Union Cabinet has approved the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) with a financial outlay of Rs. 7,280 Crore on 26th November, 2025. The said scheme was notified on 15th December, 2025. (c): No such assessment has been undertaken by Ministry of Heavy Industries. (d): Does not arise. *******