Acknowledging the ongoing shortage of rare earth materials faced by India’s automobile industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government was working towards building national capacity in critical minerals and would soon launch exploration missions.
“I’m aware of the rare earth materials shortage, and we are trying to address it with the critical minerals mission. There will be exploration at more than 1,200 sites for critical minerals,” PM Modi said. He also green flagged Maruti Suzuki’s first battery electric vehicle, the eVitara, which will be made in the company’s Gujarat plant and exported to over a 100 countries.
The PM’s comments on the rare earth materials shortage come as automakers are feeling the heat of Chinese curbs on the crucial minerals. The Indian Express earlier reported that Royal Enfield has tried out a temporary hack for its gear position sensor as the global shortages bite, exposing vulnerabilities in vehicle supply chains. Other automakers too are cutting down on certain non-essential equipment in their vehicles to reduce the usage of rare earth materials as uncertainty over China’s green light to export the key materials looms.
Despite ongoing supply chain disruptions, policies made by the Indian government in the past decade are proving useful, the PM said. “In 2014, we started working on it, our goal of Make in India and how we can create a conducive environment for global and domestic investors,” he said.
The land for Maruti Suzuki’s plant in Gujarat’s Hansalpur was allotted to the company in 2012, when Modi was Chief Minister of the state. “Our efforts from that time are playing a big role in fulfilling the nation’s dreams… Suzuki, a Japanese company, is making its cars in India and exporting them to Japan… India has the power of democracy, the advantage of demography and a big pool of skilled workforce, which makes global companies trust India,” the PM said.
The PM also urged state governments to step up their reform process and increase ease of doing business to attract investors. “I want states to be proactive, pro development policies and reforms… The faster a state makes its policies neat and clean, with no ifs and buts, it will help investors’ confidence… I call on states to compete on reforms and good governance,” Modi said.
(The reporter was in Gujarat at the invitation of Maruti Suzuki)
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
