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China holds global defence technologies hostage with its chokehold on critical rare earths. This, is exactly how India is weaponizing billions to break free, and fight back.
Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board; A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Scandium (Sc) element; A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Yttrium (Y) element. (Image Courtesy: Reuters)
A Reuters exclusive from February 26, 2026, and a New York Times investigation from December 2025 together paint a picture that stands quite unsettling to defence planners in New Delhi as much as in Washington. China is not just the world’s leading supplier of rare earth minerals, the reports argue. China is in fact the gatekeeper, and it has started locking the gate, limiting access to those it deems worthy, they add.
New Delhi, however, has not been sitting idle. While the problems in the global supply chain are real, so is India’s response. In November 2025, the government approved a Rs 7,280 crore scheme for Rare Earth Permanent Magnet manufacturing, targeting an integrated domestic capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum. According to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release dated February 2, 2026, “the target is not just to produce magnets. The aim is to build the kind of industrial depth that makes a country resilient when a foreign supplier cuts the line.”
The Strategy: Corridors and Capital
The Union Budget 2026-27 accelerated this effort by announcing Dedicated Rare Earth Corridors (DRECs) across Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. These states house India’s monazite deposits, which the PIB notes contain an estimated 7.23 million tonnes of rare earth oxides.
Anil Trigunayat, former Ambassador and High Commissioner, said: “Just the availability of rare-earth elements and critical minerals is not enough. Processing capability and technological edge are an absolute imperative while we tie up with some reliable partners in Africa, Russia and the Americas. Priority must be accorded as time is at a premium.”
The Geopolitical Weapon: Yttrium, Scandium, and Samarium
The urgency is driven by a “flexing” of Chinese muscle. The Reuters report highlights how suppliers to US aerospace firms are now rationing Yttrium (essential for jet engines) after prices climbed 69 times higher than a year ago. Simultaneously, Scandium for 5G chips is running short. Dylan Patel, CEO of SemiAnalysis, confirmed to Reuters that “the United States has zero domestic scandium production and no operational alternative supply outside China. Stockpiles are currently measured in months, not years.”
The NYT investigation uncovered a similar crisis with Samarium, used in Tomahawk cruise missile fin actuators. While a temporary fix was found in an old French stockpile, Grant Smith of Less Common Metals estimates this gives the West “roughly a year of runway. What comes after that is still not settled.”
Bridging the Technology Gap
For India, the stakes are direct: the BrahMos missile, the Akash system, and the Tejas aircraft all rely on these minerals. Recognising the massive effort needed, policy expert Anurag Awasthi explained to CNN-News18: “Technology is a costly commodity, and it requires years to develop it to a competitive threshold. To this end many technological collaborations with mutual benefits need to be ascertained and configured…There is a need to acknowledge this space as a ‘Strategic Sector’ with policy interventions to make this sector lucrative and competitive for entrepreneurs with adequate incentivisation. This will be the key to future high technology dreams including chip manufacturing and critical electronics…The present talent, astute policy interventions, infusing a public private partnership model and curating multilateral JVs in this space could accrue rich dividends for India in the future strategically, economically and technologically.”
The Sanand Milestone
India’s ability to execute at scale was proven on February 28, 2026, with the inauguration of Micron Technology’s Semiconductor facility in Sanand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the occasion “a symbol of a crucial partnership between India and the United States in securing the global supply chain, particularly in chips and artificial intelligence.”
The facility’s scale is staggering. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that the Phase-1 cleanroom “spans five lakh square feet, making it one of the largest raised floor cleanrooms in the world,” requiring three and a half times the iron used in the Eiffel Tower. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw further noted that “electronics manufacturing has registered sixfold growth, and electronics exports have seen eightfold growth in recent years.”
The Sanand plant proves India can build frontier-grade infrastructure. However, as the original reports warn, the gap between geological wealth and usable material remains “dangerously wide”.
March 03, 2026, 12:17 IST
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