Industry body CII on Sunday (February 1, 2026) welcomed the Union Budget proposal to establish dedicated rare earth corridors in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha stating it would help India’s leadership in rare earth magnets.

The Union Budget 2026 proposal towards establishment of Rare Earth Corridors would help promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing and thus help build India’s leadership in rare earth magnets and critical minerals, CII said in a statement on Sunday (February 1).

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While presenting her ninth consecutive budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, a scheme for rare earth magnets was announced in 2020 and a dedicated rare earth corridors would be established in the four states.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to support the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing dedicated rare-earth corridors, to push to secure India’s supplies of rare earth magnets.

Ms. Sitharaman was presenting her ninth consecutive Union Budget for the April 2026 to March 2027 in the Parliament on Sunday (February 1, 2026).

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The move comes as India looks to reduce its dependence on China for rare-earth minerals. Two of the four states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, are set to go to Assembly elections in 2026.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Ms. Sitharaman said, “A scheme for rare earth permanent magnets was launched in 2025. We now propose to support the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing dedicated rare-earth corridors to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing.”

In November 2025, the Union government approved a new “first-of-its-kind” scheme to manufacture Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) in India, with a financial outlay of ₹7,280 crore.

The ‘Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets’ aimed to establish 6,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of integrated Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) manufacturing in India.

The total financial outlay of the scheme of ₹7,280 crore was to comprise a sales-linked incentives of ₹6,450 crore on REPM sales for five years and a capital subsidy of ₹750 crore for the setting up of an aggregate of 6,000 MTPA of REPM manufacturing facilities.