Indian industry is on a seismic trajectory. The state of Andhra Pradesh has announced one of the most ambitious plans for the development of strategic minerals in the country’s recent memory \u2014 a rare earth manufacturing push of \u20b950,000 crore that spans mining and mineral separation, processing and production, as well as high-value downstream products like rare earth permanent magnets and titanium metal. This is not a vision or a dream but an ongoing industrial initiative, with a number of cluster locations identified, policy design at cabinet-level underway, and corporate behemoths such as Reliance, Adani and Vedanta already showing interest.<\/p>\n
This is a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs, MSME promoters, startup founders and industrial investors who have never seen such an opportunity before. The entire supply chain for rare earths is facing the crisis globally. China, the world’s near-90% producer of refined rare earth magnets<\/a>, has introduced export restrictions that shook the auto, electronics and defence industries around the world. India has the fifth largest reserves of rare earths in the world, but imports nearly all the rare earth permanent magnets. The new corridor plans of AP are likely to make a difference in that equation with strong central government policy support.<\/p>\n