The government is in the process of finalising the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets, Union minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Monday, urging domestic and international companies to participate in the bidding process.

The Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel was speaking while chairing a stakeholder consultation meeting on the scheme, attended by industrial participants from India and overseas. Kumaraswamy said the initiative marked a critical step towards building a self-reliant, resilient and globally competitive ecosystem for rare earth permanent magnets, in line with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the minister encouraged all eligible players to seize the opportunity and contribute to India’s long-term growth by taking part in the bidding process, adding that work on finalising the RFP is under way.

The meeting was attended by senior officials including the secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, the chairman and managing director of IREL (India) Ltd, the director (technical) of NMDC, the director of NFTDC, along with several industry representatives from India and abroad.

The scheme has a total financial outlay of Rs 72.8 billion. This includes Rs 64.5 billion in sales-linked incentives on rare earth permanent magnet sales and Rs 7.5 billion in capital subsidy to support the establishment of an aggregate 6,000 million tonnes per annum of manufacturing capacity.

The programme will run for seven years from the date of award, comprising a two-year gestation period for setting up integrated manufacturing facilities, followed by five years of incentive disbursement linked to sales.

During the consultation, industry representatives outlined their capabilities and expressed interest in participating in the scheme, signalling strong response from both domestic and international players.