Vedanta's executive vice-chairman Navin Agarwal is making a significant personal investment of ₹1,250 crore in a new manufacturing venture focused on rare earth magnets. According to reports from Mint, this privately held firm has enlisted some of the world's top experts for the business, with the company planning to participate in the government's production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme announced last year. The newly incorporated NAN MagneTech Pvt. Ltd is a fully-owned subsidiary of NAN GreenMet Pvt. Ltd, a holding company founded by Navin Agarwal, who chairs both entities in his personal capacity.
The company will initially have a capacity to manufacture 1,200 tonnes of high-performance neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets annually, with plans to expand to up to 10,000 tonnes in phases. Agarwal's ₹1,250 crore investment will fund the first phase of operations, while India's annual requirement for rare earth magnets is estimated at 4,000-5,000 tonnes. As confirmed by Gaurav Shukla, deputy CEO of NAN MagneTech, the company is looking forward to participating in the REPM PLI scheme, with the bidding entity being NAN MagneTech Pvt. Ltd.
The company has assembled an impressive team of international experts for the project. It has engaged Japanese physicist Masato Sagawa, the inventor of NdFeB magnets, as a technical advisor. Additionally, the company has roped in US-based expert John Ormerod to chair the technical board, who brings over 40 years of experience in research, development and manufacturing of rare earth magnets. Shukla, who holds a doctorate degree in materials science from IIT Guwahati and has spent the last decade working on rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing, confirmed these appointments to Mint.
The magnet maker has secured land in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh and obtained a financial incentive package from the state, as confirmed by Gaurav Shukla to Mint. The company has signed long-term contracts with an Australian company for rare earth elements and long-term supply contracts with major user industries of NdFeB magnets, though specific supplier names were not disclosed. No timelines have been disclosed for the project's start date.
The venture addresses India's critical dependence on China for rare earth magnets, with the country meeting 80-90% of its demand from Beijing. Chinese manufacturers currently control almost the entire global supply of rare earth magnets, and Indian manufacturers faced supply disruptions when China curbed exports during trade tensions with the US. The ₹7,280 crore PLI scheme deadline for applications is set for 29 June 2026, with these small but powerful magnets critical for electric vehicles, wind turbines, fighter jets and defence systems. While Navin Agarwal is planning to make rare earth magnets in his personal capacity under this venture, the publicly traded companies he leads—Vedanta Ltd and Hindustan Zinc Ltd—also have plans to enter into rare earth element mining and refining operations.
