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The Indian government is launching an initiative to promote the indigenous manufacturing of rare earth magnets.
A pre-bid meeting is scheduled to engage domestic and international industry players and clarify the scheme's framework.
This strategic move aims to reduce India's reliance on imports for these critical components, vital for high-tech and defence sectors.
REEs are a group of 17 metallic elements (15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium) that are crucial for many modern technologies. Despite their name, they are not exceptionally rare in the Earth's crust but are dispersed and difficult and costly to extract, separate, and process into usable forms, leading to complex supply chains.
Simple Analogy: Imagine trying to collect all the tiny, specific grains of sand from a vast beach; the sand is abundant, but isolating only those specific grains is challenging and requires specialized methods.
This initiative is a direct application of India's broader strategy to identify, secure, and indigenously process critical minerals essential for its economic growth and national security.
Rare earth magnets are key components in the motors of electric vehicles and the generators of wind turbines, making their domestic availability crucial for India's clean energy transition goals.
The push for domestic manufacturing of rare earth magnets directly supports these flagship government initiatives aimed at boosting indigenous production and reducing import dependence across strategic sectors.
GS-III Economy (Industrial Policy, Resource Mobilization), Science & Technology (Developments and applications), Internal Security (Strategic Materials)
General Awareness (Economy, Science & Technology)
Economic & Industrial News, General Awareness
General Science, General Awareness
Strategic Materials, Self-reliance in Defence Manufacturing
With reference to India's Five-Year Plans, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. From the Second Five-Year Plan, there was a determined thrust towards substitution of basic and capital good industries. 2. The Fourth Five-Year Plan adopted the objective of correcting the earlier trend of increased concentration of wealth and economic power. 3. In the Fifth Five-Year Plan, for the first time, the financial sector was included as an integral part of the Plan. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 1 and 2 only
The term 'Domestic Content Requirement' is sometimes seen in the news with reference to
Answer: Developing solar power production in our country
Consider the following pairs: Port : Well known as 1. Kamarajar Port : First major port in India registered as a company 2. Mundra Port : Largest privately owned port in India 3. Visakhapatnam Port : Largest container port in India How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Answer: Only two pairs
Medium-High (critical minerals and strategic manufacturing are recurring themes in economic and science & technology sections).
A group of 17 metallic elements critical for high-tech applications.
A type of rare earth magnet known for its strong magnetic properties, widely used in modern technology.
Minerals essential for a nation's economy and national security, whose supply chains are vulnerable.
The capacity of a state to act independently in its national interest, particularly in critical sectors like technology and defence.