Govt plans to nudge auto industry to invest in a rare-earth-free future

The government plans to nudge the automobile industry to invest in research and development (R&D) of rare-earth-magnetfree technology, according to two officials aware of the plan, as the country seeks to break free from China's stranglehold and adopt cleaner solutions.

- Manas Pimpalkhare & Rituraj Baruah

The Union heavy industries ministry plans to leverage funds from the government's ₹50,000 crore Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) towards this strategic push to counter China, which remains a dominant force controlling more than 90% of the world's rare earth processing capabilities, said one of the two officials quoted earlier.

"We are planning to push for more R&D from the companies themselves, and we will also assess whether the government needs to support these ventures," said the official.

Initial consultations have been conducted to help develop this capability, the second official said. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity.

India's R&D investments stand at 0.6-0.7% of GDP com-