India holds 8.52 million tonnes of rare earth resources

India has 8.52 million tonnes of rare earth resources but remains dependent on imports due to low-grade deposits, regulatory limits and lack of processing capacity. The government is promoting domestic magnet manufacturing through incentives and infrastructure development

New Delhi: India holds rare earth oxide resources of approximately 8.52 million tonnes, but remains dependent on imports for rare earth magnets and related products due to low-grade domestic deposits, regulatory constraints and a limited processing industry, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research has identified 7.23 million tonnes of total rare earth oxide equivalent contained in monazite deposits across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

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An additional 1.29 million tonnes of rare earth resources have been identified in hard rock terrains in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Despite these reserves, India’s dependence on imported rare earth magnets persists on account of three structural constraints: domestic ore grades are significantly low at 0.056-0.058 per cent and are tied to radioactivity, making extraction complex and expensive; mineable reserves are limited due to coastal regulation zone rules, forest cover, and mangrove restrictions; and the country lacks a midstream rare earth value chain for manufacturing metals, alloys, and magnets from refined oxides.

To address this gap, the Union Cabinet in November 2025 approved a scheme to promote the manufacturing of sintered rare earth permanent magnets, with a total financial outlay of Rs 7,280 crore.

The scheme targets the establishment of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum of rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing capacity in India, supported by sales-linked incentives of Rs 6,450 crore over five years and a capital subsidy of Rs 730 crore, the minister highlighted.

He further stated that the government has also set up a rare earth permanent magnet plant in Andhra Pradesh for annual production of three tonnes of samarium cobalt magnets used in defence and atomic energy applications.

“Complementing these efforts, the Union Budget 2026-27 has announced dedicated rare earth corridors in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu,” according to him.

Rare earth permanent magnets are critical components in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, high-end electronics, aerospace equipment, and defence systems.