India’s imports of everlasting magnets—many containing uncommon earth parts (REEs)—practically doubled to 53,700 tonnes in 2024-25 (FY25) from round 28,700 tonnes the yr earlier than, in accordance with official commerce knowledge. The surge in imports, with 93 per cent coming from China, preceded Beijing’s April 4 export restrictions on uncommon earth magnets, which have since disrupted manufacturing strains globally. In India, with simply 2-3 weeks of REE magnet provide remaining, business executives are anticipated to journey to China in a bid to ease the scarcity, sources instructed The Indian Categorical.
Consumption of everlasting magnets has grown considerably in India during the last 5 monetary years—from simply 12,400 tonnes in FY21 to twenty-eight,700 tonnes in FY24, earlier than imports surged 88 per cent to 53,700 tonnes in FY25. Regardless of the big bounce in amount imported in FY25, the worth of imports grew by solely 5 per cent to Rs 1,744 crore, which is suggestive of a decline in costs.
China is the dominant provider of everlasting magnets in India, accounting for upwards of 90 per cent share. Imports from China elevated by 95 per cent year-on-year to 50,000 tonnes in FY25. Everlasting magnets, particularly these made with REEs, are extensively utilized in electrical car (EV) motors, wind generators, aerospace, and defence.
In distinction to FY25, imports within the ongoing monetary yr are anticipated to be tempered, after China imposed export restrictions on uncommon earth magnets and associated supplies from April 4, as a direct response to US imposing tariffs.
In India, a provide crunch is within the making, particularly for neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets utilized in EV motors. Over the previous month or so, Indian carmakers are learnt to have used up inventories and there’s more likely to be a scarcity going ahead.
“There may be solely 2-3 weeks of provide left. At current, complying with China’s guidelines appears to be the one possibility. There could also be a delegation of business representatives going to China to resolve the problem,” sources mentioned.
Earlier, a senior government from the Indian automotive business instructed The Indian Categorical that importers at the moment are required to offer their Chinese language suppliers an enterprise that the uncommon earth magnets procured from that nation would solely be utilized in automobiles and never for defence or army purposes.
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Presently, IREL (India) Ltd, a PSU below the Division of Atomic Vitality, refines uncommon earth oxides from heavy metallic ores, containing REEs like cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium. Nonetheless, manufacturing is proscribed. Furthermore, the processing of refining oxides into alloys—after which into magnets—is extremely technical and just about non-existent in India.
Sources mentioned an oxide-to-magnet plant of a subsidiary below the Midwest Group, a prime pure stones participant in India, is anticipated to get operationalised in Hyderabad within the subsequent six months. Initially with simply 500 tonnes every year (TPA), the plant’s capability is anticipated to extend to five,000 TPA by 2030.
Determining the availability chain for uncommon earth ores is a key problem, with gamers importing ores from Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Myanmar, sources mentioned. One other problem for home gamers can be to stay viable as China considerably cuts costs of uncommon earth magnets.
For example, whereas the amount of everlasting magnet imports from China elevated by 95 p.c y-o-y in FY25, the whole worth of imports elevated by solely 12 per cent—from Rs 1,274 crore to Rs 1,425 crore. In different phrases, China massively reduce costs of magnets it exported to India in FY25.
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In accordance with the US Geological Survey’s January 2025 knowledge, India held the world’s third-largest uncommon earth reserves in 2024—estimated at 6.9 million tonnes— behind China (44 million tonnes) and Brazil (21 million tonnes). Nonetheless, on the manufacturing entrance, India ranked seventh at 2,900 tonnes, effectively behind China (255,000 tonnes), Myanmar (43,000), the US (41,600), Australia, Nigeria, and Thailand.
Within the January 2024 report, India ranked fifth in reserves. The newest revision displays discount in different international locations’ estimates—Vietnam’s reserves have been reduce from 22 million tonnes to three.5 million, and Russia’s from 10 million to three.8 million.
Over the previous yr, the Ministry of Mines has auctioned three uncommon earth blocks—one every in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. However with additional exploration nonetheless required, industrial manufacturing stays just a few years away.