India's Rare Earth Diplomacy: The Pull The Magnets Hold & The Contest With China
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Rare earth magnets are used in electric vehicles, missiles, drones, and smartphones. IREL and BARC have been tasked with commercialising indigenous magnet-making technologies
Amid the breaking news on Israel-Iran conflict, the instability in the Middle East and analysis of the tragic air crash in Ahmedabad, India is quietly working the diplomatic channels and other power corridors — not to procure weapons or warheads, but for rare earth magnets.
Rare earth magnets are the invisible muscle behind electric vehicles, missiles, drones, and smartphones.
India's rare earth diplomacy is no longer buried in the footnotes of strategic policy memos. It is now to the fore of the silent, but systematic high-stakes geopolitical battle. With Beijing controlling over 90% of the global supply chain for rare earth elements, especially neodymium and dysprosium magnets, the urgency is now palpable.
For India, this isn't just about market dominance or self-reliance, but about national security and 'technological sovereignty", an expression that PM Modi used in his crucial meeting with the top bureaucrats last month.
INTER-MINISTERIAL MEETINGS AND OUTREACH
An inter-ministerial meeting, co-chaired by the union minister for steel and heavy industries, H.D. Kumaraswamy, and union minister for mines and coal, G Kishan Reddy, brought together heavyweights from the ministries of Heavy Industries, Steel, Mines, Commerce & Industry, and the Department of Atomic Energy. The officers, informed of the developments, said that this meeting is one of the series of developments happening over the rare earth-related deliberations and decisions.
The agenda was to break the Chinese monopoly on rare earth magnets and fast-track India's indigenous capabilities. 'This inter-ministerial effort will pave the way for India's self-reliance in strategic materials crucial for EVs, electronics, defence and other sectors," Kumaraswamy said in a statement after the meeting.
At the centre of India's response are two little-known but powerful institutions—Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) and BARC. The plan is to not just mine the elements, but to crack the far more complex challenge of processing and commercialising high-grade rare earth magnets domestically — a stage where most countries drop out, and China dominates.
HOW DID CHINA FLEX ITS MUSCLES OVER MAGNETS?
In April, China flexed its control over the global rare earth supply chain by further tightening export controls on select items. The move sent shockwaves through global manufacturing sectors and particularly rattled India's auto and electronics industries that are increasingly reliant on rare earth magnets for everything from EV motors to missile systems.
However, New Delhi appears to be responding with calculation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stepped into what is traditionally a trade and industry domain. It is now engaging Chinese counterparts in both Delhi and Beijing, pushing for more transparency, consistency, and predictability in rare earth exports. The MEA's approach is measured and precise.
Meanwhile, the ministry also quietly swung into action, opening fresh diplomatic channels with countries in Europe, Australia and Central Asia—the regions rich in rare earth reserves and wary of Chinese overreach. These aren't headline-grabbing bilateral summits, but slow, deliberate and calculated moves through joint ventures, technology transfers, exploratory talks, and all with one aim of diversifying supply and building parallel trust chains.
India's search for new friends is as much about geopolitical strategy and also about geochemistry. The push aligns with PM Modi's vision of Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047, said a senior IAS officer, who is part of the rare earth deliberation.
India is not just trying to weather the storm. It is now trying to build its own ark. IREL and BARC, the country's rare earth processing and atomic research backbones, are now tasked with commercialising indigenous magnet-making technologies.
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New Delhi, India, India
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June 18, 2025, 13:01 IST
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