Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech today announced the setting up of dedicated rare earth corridors, aiming to strengthen India’s domestic manufacturing base and reduce dependence on imports of critical minerals.
In her Lok Sabha speech, Sitharaman said, “We now propose to support the mineral rich states such as Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare earth corridors to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing,” FM Nirmala Sitharaman said.
The government will support mineral-rich states to build dedicated rare earth corridors. These corridors will connect Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The move comes after the government launched a scheme for rare earth permanent magnets in November 2025.
India facing China’s export curbs
Earlier in April 2025, China, which controls more than 90% of the world’s rare-earths processing capacity, introduced export controls on a set of rare earth minerals and products that are key components for electric vehicles (EVs), electronics, defence systems and renewable energy.
These curbs require exporters to obtain special licences and submit detailed end-use declarations, which slowed approvals and shipments.
Following this curb India tried to push for rare earth self-reliance.
According to a report by Amicus Growth, India holds the world’s third-largest reserves of rare earths at 6.9 million tonnes, yet its contribution is not even 1 per cent of the global production. The report underlined this gap between resource potential and actual production on the part of India, while China leads in the global rare earth market with both reserves and processing capabilities.
Rare earth stocks in focus
Following this announcement, the share price of Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) declined marginally by 0.33% in the intra-day trade on Sunday. While the share price of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Gujarat Mineral Development Corpn (GMDC) was flat. However, the share price of National Aluminium company dipped by 8.28% in the intraday trade.