rare earth material
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that India is taking several steps to increase the supply of rare minerals. These include negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile and Peru, promoting mineral exploration in the country, and involving startups in recycling and processing work. Speaking at an event organized by ASSOCHAM, the minister asked domestic companies to diversify their supply chains and cooperate with each other, like companies in Japan and Korea do, because nowadays the use of trade and supply chain as a weapon has increased.
Goyal said, why do Japan and Korea buy only their country’s steel? Even if steel from India is $100 per ton cheaper, they do not buy it. It is not that the government stops, but their industry supports the industry of their country. But here, if even 10 paise is available cheaply from outside, it is immediately imported.
China’s move is heavy on him
He told that the government is now trying to bring supply of rare minerals from countries like Australia, Chile and Peru, because these countries have good reserves of it, while the main supplier China has banned exports, due to which the supply chain around the world is being affected. An Indian team will soon be going to Chile and Peru for the next round of trade talks. India has already implemented a trade agreement with Australia.
Goyal said, we are working towards increasing exploration in our country also. The minister also said that they are talking to startups to extract rare minerals from waste recycling and also see if processing plants can be built in India itself, as currently these facilities are concentrated in one region only.