Rare Earths, Real Support: IREL Gets a Parliamentary Green Light

Amid rising global demand for rare earth elements, a Parliamentary panel has urged the government to enhance support for IREL (India) Ltd, the country’s only company engaged in the mining and refining of these critical minerals.

The Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel has recommended a dedicated budgetary push for IREL to prioritise the exploration and extraction of rare earth elements, with the objective of reducing India’s heavy dependence on imports. Rare earths are vital for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicle motors and batteries, solar power systems, as well as for strategic defence applications.

In its latest report, the Committee emphasised the need for a comprehensive strategy to ensure domestic availability and economic viability of rare earth resources. It also advocated international collaborations to strengthen mineral processing and technological capabilities.

“The government should consider strengthening existing institutions like IREL through targeted budgetary allocations to prioritise the exploration and mining of rare earth elements,” the report noted. In line with this push, IREL is expanding its production capacity and intensifying research and development efforts to meet growing domestic and global demand.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.