- It’s a matter of pride to note that India as a country has made tremendous advances economically over the decades and is poised to become the fourth-largest economy in the world this year, surpassing Japan. Only Germany, China, and the USA will be ahead of us. A lot of credit should go to the successive governments, right from the time of the late Narsimha Rao-led government went ahead with the liberalization and globalization measures, opening up the economy for overseas investments big time. Since then, successive governments have made decisive moves in the right direction, propelling the country to the present status of the fifth-largest economy in the world. The Union Government aspires to become one of the most advanced countries by 2047. Great!
PC: India Today
- Lofty goals, one must say. Nothing impossible, though. No harm in being an aspirational society, and who does not wish to embrace enhanced living standards with all the luxuries on offer available at affordable prices. For this to fructify, the country must ensure economic developments are undertaken in every critical vertical. However, overseas dependence on critical areas makes the nation vulnerable. Strategic interest must prevail over economic sense. Germany’s crude reserves are so small, they won’t last three months in an emergency. So, how did Hitler wage war for five years? By turning coal into petrol. Over 92% of the Luftwaffe’s aviation fuel was synthetic. As the world grapples with China’s rare earth curbs, there’s a useful lesson here.
PC: Nikkei Asia
- As you are aware, while the rare earths crisis that started with China’s export curbs on April 4 may be blowing over, Trump announced on Truth Social recently: Full magnets and any necessary rare earths will be supplied, up front, by China – it will have a once-bitten-twice-shy effect. Over the past weeks, Western carmakers have considered producing cars without some components that use rare earths. At home, the Maruti’s had to scale back production plans for its first EV due to a global shortage of rare earth magnets. Note that these magnets contain about 25% of a rare earth element called neodymium. It’s one of the so-called light rare earths that are available in India, but we don’t produce enough of it because of cheap Chinese supplies as a viable option.
PC: IndiaConnected
For the uninitiated, while motors can be made without rare earths, other devices like TV screens, computers, and MRI machines can’t do without them. That’s why India needs to build a large, rare earths industry. And with the world’s fifth-largest rare earth reserves, it’s well placed to do so. Likewise, it needs to end its dependence on China for 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs, because while buying from the cheapest supplier makes economic sense, it’s a strategic risk. The aim must be to reduce dependence because dependence, especially on critical products, is vulnerability. About 90% of our crude is imported. The rare earth crisis is a brief distraction. The real issue is India’s rare investment problem, and it needs national attention now, and more action.
