The Indian Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is set to conduct a pre-bid consultation on April 7 for its ₹7,280 crore (approximately $880 million USD) scheme aimed at promoting the production of rare earth magnets. These magnets are essential for various industries, including electric vehicles, renewable energy, and defense. The scheme, which received approval from the Union Cabinet on November 26, 2022, will provide capital and sales-linked incentives to five magnet manufacturing plants over a seven-year period. The first two years will focus on investment and plant setup. This initiative is particularly significant as it aims to reduce India's reliance on China, which currently dominates the rare earth market, controlling about 60% of global mining and 90% of processing capacity. The government has assured that raw material supplies will be sufficient, with India Rare Earth Ltd (IREL) set to supply 500 tonnes of raw materials to selected companies, enabling the production of approximately 1,500 tonnes of magnets. The overall target is to increase India's magnet-making capacity to 6,000 tonnes per annum.