Rare earths push: Experts urge India to build global partnerships; highlight need for domestic refining, ecosystem

India should widen its collaboration with friendly countries to strengthen its capabilities in rare-earth material development, industry experts said at the CII Conference on Building Resilient Rare Earth Metal (REM) Supply Chains Through Technology Localisation held in Chennai on Friday.According to news agency ANI, R Saravanabhavan, deputy adviser (minerals) at Niti Aayog, said that India’s approach should remain open and inclusive when it comes to partnerships in this strategic sector. “We cannot have any yardstick by which to partner or not to partner. Our idea is to open the floor, actually. Whichever country they want to come and join hands with us, we are ready to take it forward,” he stated.Retired Air Marshal M Matheswaran, former deputy chief of the integrated defence staff, stressed the need for India to build far greater capacity in the field. “Right now, we’ve just realised that we need to create capabilities much more than what we have right now. There is, however, a very big mountain to climb. Let’s focus on that first, rather than becoming a leader in rare earths later,” he remarked.Highlighting the importance of partnerships, Matheswaran said India must engage with countries such as Japan, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, the US and the UK. However, he noted, “Nobody gives you tech,” underlining the challenges of technology transfer despite strong trade relations.Rare-earth materials—comprising 17 elements, including lanthanides, scandium and yttrium—are vital for modern industries, powering technologies from electric vehicles and smartphones to defence systems and medical devices.Wing commander P Madhusoodhanan, vice president (Aerospace and Defence) at Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), said Tamil Nadu and Kerala possess abundant rare-earth deposits, particularly monazite. “It’s a question of processing them. There is a limited amount of processing which is happening. It’s not actually matching the resources,” he said, adding that mining exists, but refining and recycling infrastructure are yet to be developed.He emphasised that once refining and recycling capabilities are established, India could create an end-to-end rare-earth ecosystem to support its aerospace and defence industries.