New Delhi, June 10 -- Disruptions in rare earth magnets supply chains, controlled by China, have exposed the risks in being import-dependent for key industrial components. In particular, magnets supply constraints could impact electric vehicle (EV) production. Mint explains:

What's the rare earth magnet issue?

Rare earth magnets are powerful magnets made from alloys of 17 different rare earth elements, primarily neodymium or samarium. They are used in applications like automotive manufacturing, phones, missiles and electronics. Over the last three decades, China has developed expertise in this and today makes 90% of the world's rare earth magnets. From April this year, China started placing curbs on exports of the magnets following its ...