Real Chance For India To Escape The Rare Earth Bind

In every challenge lies an opportunity is a tired old cliché. But China’s decision to weaponise its near monopoly over the supply of rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) has converted the cliché into an engineering opportunity. Trade and tariff wars over rare earths, notwithstanding the “deals” struck, are a wake-up call at precisely the moment that kinks and bends have developed – thanks to AI – in the stem of the traditional funnel of infotech through which India’s engineering colleges pour fresh graduates into the job market.
Providing a solution for the global shortage of REPMs is a giant opportunity. REPMs drive motors big and small – from the one that drives an electric car to those that raise and lower windows, or assist the steering wheel or brakes. China, obviously, has no interest in creating this solution, and so the terrain is virtually uncontested for India, except for high-cost economies or smaller ones that lack the scale and quality of engineering talent India has at its disposal.