Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 19: India will commence production of rare-earth permanent magnets within this year, Union Minister for Mines G. Kishan Reddy said on Thursday, February 19, 2026, underscoring the Centre’s push to reduce dependence on imports of critical minerals.
Rare-earth permanent magnets are among the strongest types of magnets and are widely used in electric vehicles, renewable energy installations, electronics, aerospace and defence sectors. The Union Cabinet had in November last year approved a scheme for rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing with a capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum, with a financial outlay of ?7,280 crore.
Addressing a critical minerals summit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), the minister stressed the need to strengthen domestic capabilities in processing and value addition.
He announced that the government plans to set up dedicated parks for critical mineral processing plants in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. He informed that the Gujarat government has already initiated work, while the Andhra Pradesh government has given its approval for the proposed park.
Highlighting the current challenges, Reddy said that India has very few manufacturing plants for processing critical minerals. “After much toiling, we extract raw materials, it goes to some other country for processing. We should look to avert this dynamic and process it here. This is a challenge for us,” he said.
The minister also pointed out the immense potential for extracting critical minerals from electronic waste. Noting that many households store unused mobile phones, he said such scrap could be tapped as a valuable resource. “We could look to extract critical minerals from them,” he added, emphasising the need to explore recycling opportunities, particularly in urban India.
He noted that recycling does not require mining or forest and environmental clearances, making it a viable and sustainable option. Assuring policy, operational and financial support from the Centre, Reddy also spoke about the possibility of importing scrap from outside India to further boost recycling efforts.