New Delhi, April 7 -- NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries, Sona Comstar, Vedanta, Larsen & Toubro, and Japan's Proterial were among the companies that joined discussions with the government on Tuesday over the $780-million rare earth magnet manufacturing scheme, according to an executive who was part of the consultations.

bid consultation at the India Habitat Centre in the national capital to address prospective bidders' queries and concerns regarding the scheme, which aims to localize the production of rare earth magnets critical for automobile, defence, electronics and wind energy sectors, among others.

The scheme received the Union Cabinet's assent on 26 November last year, following which interested parties have begun consultations with ...