Rare earth magnet crisis: Piyush Goyal says India must reduce its dependence on 'particular geographies'

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that India must reduce its dependence on particular geographies and look at alternative sources of supply to prevent market distortions.

“We must work to prevent distortions. We must reduce our dependence on particular geographies and look at alternative sources of supply where we can have resilience in our supply chain. We must also look at newer technologies so that we are not overly dependent on imports and can focus on Atmanirbharta,” Goyal said while virtually addressing the India Energy Storage Week (IESW) 2025.

The commerce minister’s comments come at a time when China has curbed exports of rare earth minerals – critical for making components for electric vehicles – since April. Several automakers including Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company have warned of production cuts due to this crisis. “Disruptions in the EV supply chain, particularly concerning magnet availability continue to pose challenges in the short to medium term,” TVS Motor Company said on July 1.

Goyal said self-reliance on critical minerals and semiconductor industries is India’s ambition for the future. “Our ambition cannot be restricted to cell production. The whole value chain: raw materials, cell components, battery packs, semiconductors, management systems, the recycling of used equipment. The entire value chain is our holistic ambition,” said Goyal.

On EV charging infrastructure, Goyal said, “We should look at co-existence of charging and battery swapping infrastructure for faster electric vehicle adoption.”

Faster adoption of EVs will go a long way in bringing cleaner environment in the cities, he added.

Goyal further said that India must lead the research and development efforts in energy storage, next-gen battery chemistries, solid state technologies, hybrid storage solutions. “All of these will define our energy independence,” he said, adding that innovation will have to be the core of India’s ambitions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently approved ₹1 lakh crore R&D and innovation fund which will be a game changer to help innovation and R&D in the country, said Goyal.

“When we spend ₹1 lakh crore in India, it has the potential equivalent to ₹6-7 lakh crore R&D investment in the advanced or developed countries. Our costs are much more competitive and reasonable,” he said.

“I suggest more and more companies forge alliances, more and more stakeholders come together voluntarily and create the necessary enabling framework to enable lower cost electric mobility so that more and more people enjoy the low operating cost the e-mobility brings along with it,” said Goyal.

Goyal urged the industry to expand their scale of operations to become competitive. “All of us are collectively engaged in, committed to ensuring that India has the pole position in the field of energy storage. We continue on our mission of 500 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2030. As we power our journey to 500 GW, the energy storage systems continue to have massive opportunities in the years to come.

IESW 2025 aims to advance the country’s energy landscape by providing a launchpad to over 300 product innovations in EVs, charging infrastructure, solar, green hydrogen, batteries and RE.

Speaking at IESW 2025 on Wednesday, Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar said India has made significant strides in its energy generation efforts. “Currently, we have reached almost 50% of our total generation capacity of 472 gigawatts, and by the end of this year, India is on the track to achieve the 50% renewable energy milestone of 472 gigawatt. However, to stabilise our grid, optimise power generation, and ensure 24/7 reliable clean energy, establishing an energy storage system is essential to meet our targets,” he said.