New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday unveiled a significant initiative designed to reshape India’s engagement with critical minerals.
During her budget presentation in the Lok Sabha, she announced that the government will extend support to the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing specialised rare earth corridors. These corridors are intended to serve as all-encompassing hubs that will cover the complete value chain of rare earth development, including mining, processing, research, and advanced manufacturing.
This announcement builds upon the rare earth permanent magnet scheme introduced in November 2025, marking a deliberate step towards strengthening India’s domestic capabilities in a sector long dominated by imports.
At present, India relies heavily on supplies from China, a dependence that has raised strategic concerns given the importance of rare earths in electronics, renewable energy, electric vehicles, defence technologies, and frontier manufacturing.
By fostering indigenous capacity, the government aims to secure supply chains vital to national growth and security.
The choice of states is far from arbitrary. Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu possess abundant deposits of monazite and other beach sand minerals, particularly along their coastal belts. These resources are rich in rare earth elements, making them natural candidates for integrated development.
The corridors will not merely focus on extraction but will extend to high-value processing and the production of rare earth magnets, thereby ensuring that India captures greater economic and technological value from its own reserves.
Industry observers have welcomed the move, interpreting it as a strategic response to global anxieties over China’s near-monopoly in rare earth production and exports.
The initiative dovetails neatly with the objectives of the National Critical Minerals Mission and complements recent reforms in the mining sector aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency.
It signals India’s determination to achieve self-reliance in critical minerals, a cornerstone of its broader industrial and energy transition.
The Finance Minister’s announcement is expected to catalyse investment flows, generate employment opportunities, and stimulate innovation in mineral technologies. It also positions India more prominently in the global shift towards green energy and advanced technology ecosystems.
While specifics on funding, timelines, and incentives are yet to be detailed, the corridors represent a bold stride in the government’s wider agenda to scale manufacturing in strategic sectors.
–IANS
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