New Delhi, June 25 -- On 29 June, the Indian government will figure out if a serious player is indeed interested in building rare-earth permanent magnets in India. The Rs.7,280-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet approved last November was meant to be a turning point-India's first real attempt to make the powerful little magnets that go into electric vehicles, wind turbines, fighter jets and defence systems. But as the clock winds down, few serious bids appear to have been made. The response can at best be termed lukewarm given the critical nature of the project.

Rare-earths are sometimes called the vitamins of modern industry, used in tiny amounts but impossible to substitute in the...