New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- As nations accelerate their transition toward clean energy and advanced technologies, a group of obscure metals, known as rare earth elements (REEs) has quietly emerged as the backbone of modern innovation, driving everything from electric vehicles and wind turbines to satellites and defense systems.

A detailed blog by Kotak Mutual Fund explains, rare earths, comprising 17 metallic elements with unique magnetic and electronic properties, are indispensable to high-tech manufacturing.

Despite their name, they are not truly scarce in the Earth's crust, but the challenge lies in their complex, costly, and environmentally sensitive extraction and refining.

A single wind turbine, for instance, can contain up to 600 kilo...