India is making efforts to reduce its heavy reliance on foreign rare earth imports, particularly from China, by leveraging urban mining and e-waste recycling, according to industry experts and government officials. Boosting its recycling capacity and publishing supportive domestic policies, New Delhi could reportedly meet up to 70% of its current rare earth materials demand through recycled sources in the near future.
Rare earth elements, including neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium, are crucial inputs to high-performance permanent magnets used in everything from electric vehicle motors and wind turbines to smart phones and industrial machinery. Historically, India has imported most of its REE needs, and China dominates the production and processing resources globally.
Geopolitical Pressures Prompt Recycling Plan
With nearly 90% of the supply of rare earths and other strategic minerals being traced back to Chinese supply chains, geopolitical conflicts have highlighted the vulnerabilities faced by India. With global exports of REEs being tightened, especially with China, industries have been highly prone to supply chain shocks.
Correspondingly, the need for e-waste recycling, also referred to as "urban mining," has emerged as the lever for securing these resources for the country. A leading e-waste recycling firm in India, Attero, believes that with the expansion of their operations, the country can recycle enough rare earths to meet at least 70% of its domestic need. They use their indigenous technology to recycle rare earths present in used electronics.
According to the CEO of Attero, most magnets used in common devices such as smartphones and the motors used in air-conditioners involve the use of rare earth materials sourced from China; however, the recycling process involves the recovery of this material and the insulation of local value chains against globalization effects.
Government Initiatives: Policy + Manufacturing Push
Recycling is not the only focus of the strategy adopted in India. Towards the end of 2025, the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal worth ₹7,280 crores for the development of the Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) manufacturing in the country with an annual production capacity of 6,000 tonnes of magnets, which are an important part of EV motors, among others.
Although this level of production capacity is a modest beginning in comparison to worldwide dimensions (the production capacity of China itself is over 200,000 tonnes per annum), it indicates a marked policy change towards indigenization.
Further government initiatives would be the National Critical Mineral Mission, under which the government plans to develop the end-to-end supply chain of critical materials from mining and processing through recycling, requiring an outgo of over Rs.16,000 crore. Incentivizing initiatives have also been rolled out in the recycling domain.
Domestic Potential vs. Global Reality
India has a major reserve of rare earth elements: 5-7% of world reserves. This puts the country in the top countries with respect to REE deposits. But the country has had processing difficulties due to complexity in regulations in the past.
Recycling is an immediate way out as India is already producing a large amount of waste and is actually processing a small portion of it in an official recycling facility. With proper investment and encouragement in recycling and domestic magnet manufacturing capacity development, this gap in demand can also be filled.
The Big Picture: Security, Industry, and Green Tech
The move towards recycling and local manufacturing is more than an economic initiative; it also makes sense in terms of strategy. Rare earths are used not just in commercial electronics and clean energy, but also in the defense and Aerospace domains, which require an utmost safety in supply chain terms. An improvement in the local supply, therefore, is significant in terms of technology and security, even for India.
Industry experts and players are of the opinion that through recycling and an overall increase in domestic manufacturing capacity, it could be possible to reduce India’s overall imports and establish an ecosystem in the field of green technologies and electric vehicles.
Sources
'India can meet nearly 70% rare earths demand by e-waste recycling to overcome geopolitics stress'
China's rare earth export delay offers US chance to weaken Beijing's grip on market
Cabinet Clears Rs 7,280 Crore Scheme For Manufacturing Rare Earth Magnets
Amid China’s chokehold, how India’s Rs 7,280-crore rare earth magnets push seeks some wriggle room
Modi cabinet approves Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme to boost critical mineral recycling
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BASUNDE, Rohini（Global PR & Reporter ）
Based in India, Rohini works as a Reporter and Global PR professional,
leveraging her strong background in culture, society, and media studies.
Her work primarily involves article writing and managing global public relations campaigns.
Her core areas of interest are multiculturalism, intercultural understanding, and cross-cultural communication,
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