Rare Earth Magnet Pilot Plant at ARCI Hyderabad to boost indigenous Nd-Fe-B magnet production.

Exam-focused facts from the 24 March 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has set up a pilot plant for manufacturing neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) rare earth permanent magnets at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) in Hyderabad.
DST Secretary Abhay Karandikar inaugurated the facility on Friday in the presence of scientists, industry representatives and officials from related institutions.
The plant adopts an end-to-end process from strip-cast alloy production to finished sintered magnets aimed at supporting domestic manufacturing capabilities.
The facility will serve as a platform for technology validation, process optimisation and scaling up of indigenous innovations for commercial manufacturing.