new delhi, Aug. 19 -- India may link incentives aimed at spurring rare earth magnet manufacturing to the level of local materials used as the government seeks to counter China's supply curbs, according to two people aware of the development. The government is considering a cascading localisation provision for sourcing rare earth oxides, the people said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity as the scheme is still being finalised. Levels or tiers are under consideration, said the first person quoted earlier. "This means whoever sources their raw material for processing from India, domestically, they can get higher incentives." The ministries of heavy industries, and mines have not finalized the scheme draft yet, the second official said. Queries emailed to the two ministries on 14 August remained unanswered. China, which controls about 60% of global rare earth mining and 90% of supply, imposed export restrictions in April, affecting supplies to sectors such as semiconductors, electronics, renewable energy, defence and automobiles. India's Rs.1,345-crore scheme, announced by Union heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, aims to incentivize the processing of rare earth oxides intopermanent magnets within the country. India's demand for rare earth magnets is likely to rise above 7,000 tonnes by 2030, driven by electric vehicles (EVs), according to a report by consultant Primus Partners published this month. "...This dependency represents a strategic vulnerability, especially as rare-earth magnets are critical not only to EVs but also to industrial automation, electronics, renewable energy systems, and defence applications." The government's plan to link disbursal to a formula, offering the highest incentives to manufacturers to fully source oxides domestically, comes as, according to media reports, it is set to increase the outlay to over Rs.5,000 crore to draw more interest from the industry. The incentives for sintered magnets, which are used in more critical applications such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines and surgical devices, electric motors, wind turbines, and in high-performance sensors and devices for planes and satellites, are expected to be higher than bonded magnets used in printers, copiers, battery-operated toys, among others, the second person quoted earlier said....