Latest news with #Meity
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt, industry, academia join hands to tackle rare earth magnet challenge
Government, industry and academia are working to resolve the issues concerning rare earth magnets , which are used in the automobile sector and other devices, a senior Meity official said on Friday. The technology exists to make rare earth magnets but to produce them at a commercially competitive rate is a challenge, ministry of electronics and IT, additional secretary, Amitesh Sinha said. Speaking on the sidelines of Tec-Verse event showcasing PSU technology research, Sinha said that to solve the issues concerning rare earth, all three partners - govt, industry and academia - are doing their work. "Technology is there, but we have to see how commercially we can do it at a competitive price. So that is the main challenge. Govt will surely work because these things are now becoming strategic and important," Sinha said. The Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology ( C-MET ), a research unit under Meity, at the event signed a transfer of technology agreement with Ahmedabad-based firm Somal Magnets for the production of rare earth magnets. Sinha said the work on the technology development has been going on for some years as the govt realises the importance of material technologies. "It is an effort of the last few years. So they (C-MET) have already been working on it, but suddenly the focus has come on this rare earth material. For such things, first we will have to develop a capability which, at the time of crisis, can be easily scaled. So that kind of infrastructure or capability we are aiming for now," Sinha said. He, however, said Meity is not directly engaged in the production of rare earth magnets but only in some technologies that are important for their production. In April 2024, China implemented strict export licensing on rare earth elements like terbium and dysprosium - key inputs for high-level performance NdFeB (Neodymium-Iron-Boron) magnets used in consumer electronics. The country's oldest electronics industry body, Elcina, said that the move has disrupted global supply chains, hitting India's fast-growing hearables and wearables sector hard, and the device makers are switching to import fully assembled speaker modules from China.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Government, industry, academia working to resolve issues concerning rare earth magnets: Meity official
The government, industry and academia are working to resolve the issues concerning rare earth magnets, which are used in the automobile sector and other devices, a senior Meity official said on Friday. The technology exists to make rare earth magnets but to produce them at a commercially competitive rate is a challenge, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Additional Secretary, Amitesh Sinha said. Speaking on the sidelines of the Tec-Verse event showcasing PSU technology research, Sinha said that to solve the issues concerning rare earth, all three partners - government, industry and academia - are doing their work. "Technology is there, but we have to see how commercially we can do it at a competitive price. So that is the main challenge. The government will surely work because these things are now becoming strategic and important," Sinha said. The Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology ( C-MET ), a research unit under Meity, at the event signed a transfer of technology agreement with Ahmedabad-based firm Somal Magnets for the production of rare earth magnets. Sinha said the work on the technology development has been going on for some years as the government realises the importance of material technologies. "It is an effort of the last few years. So they (C-MET) have already been working on it, but suddenly the focus has come on this rare earth material. For such things, first we will have to develop a capability which, at the time of crisis, can be easily scaled. So that kind of infrastructure or capability we are aiming for now," Sinha said. He, however, said Meity is not directly engaged in the production of rare earth magnets but only in some technologies that are important for their production. In April 2024, China implemented strict export licensing on rare earth elements like terbium and dysprosium - key inputs for high-level performance NdFeB ( Neodymium-Iron-Boron ) magnets used in consumer electronics. The country's oldest electronics industry body, Elcina, said that the move has disrupted global supply chains, hitting India's fast-growing hearables and wearables sector hard, and the device makers are switching to import fully assembled speaker modules from China. Elcina estimates that the rare earth metal-based magnets account for around 5-7% of the Bill of Materials, and India imports nearly 100% of its NdFeB magnet requirement, with China accounting for 90% of the total imports. The industry body said prices of China-origin magnets have increased due to tightened supply and administrative bottlenecks, and alternate sources, such as Japan, the European Union and the US, are 2-3 times more expensive and also lack sufficient capacity to meet India's rising demand. Rare earth magnets include neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB). It is used for high-performance automotive applications such as traction motors in electric vehicles (two-wheelers and passenger vehicles) and power steering motors (in passenger vehicles) in both electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
IT ministry mulling to fund 2D material research project
New Delhi: Electronics and IT ministry is mulling to support research on 2D material and planning to float expressions of interest to select the project, senior officials said on Friday. 2D materials have the potential to produce over 10 times smaller chips than silicon-based chips being developed at present. "We have volunteered and come forward to support programmes... with ANRF - which means putting our own research money alongside what ANRF does and trying to encourage the industry to come forward. One of the early ones that we are pushing in that space is a 2D research centre," Meity Secretary S Krishnan said while speaking at the Tec-Verse event. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) was established by the government to seed, grow and promote research and development (R&D) and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout Indian universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories. A team of 30 scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has submitted a proposal to the government for developing technologies using a new class of semiconductor materials, called 2D materials, that could enable chip sizes as small as one-tenth of the smallest chips currently in global production and develop India's leadership in semiconductors. Krishnan said that efforts should be made to collaboratively develop technologies that are supported with public funds, and duplication of projects must be avoided. "We are in the age of Deepseek (Chinese AI platform)...building on each other's efforts to go forward. This may not be pure greenfield research. A lot of it is innovation (and ), a lot of it is building on existing models on things which we can take forward. Ultimately, the test of the pudding is in what we deliver, what it is people of the country are able to benefit from," Krishnan said. Ministry of Electronics and IT, Additional Secretary, Amitesh Sinha said the role of materials in semiconductors is very important. "Earlier, everybody was focusing on electronics and communication, but now material science and chemical engineering are all very important," he said. Sinha said that Meity is mulling to float an expression of interest to select the project for funding support. PTI
Economic Times
15 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Meity secretary calls for greater collaboration among govt, industry, academia
Greater convergence and synergies among government agencies, industry and academia will be key for India to leapfrog in its technology evolution, S Krishnan, secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), said Friday. 'We are in the age of DeepSeek,' said Krishnan, referring to the frugally built open-source artificial intelligence model from China that took the tech world by storm in January. He said a lot of work in AI and innovation would be on building on existing models and efforts to take things forward rather than greenfield research. 'It's an interesting balance between… doing the whole thing ourselves as against making sure that we collaborate with the right partners to make sure that we are able to leapfrog,' the official said. He was speaking at TecVerse, an exhibition of work being done by Meity's R&D arms Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology and Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research. A memorandum of understanding between software exporter Tata Consultancy Services and C-DAC was announced at the event. The two will partner on an Indian sovereign cloud platform. The ministry is looking to jointly fund a research centre on 2D materials with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, Krishnan said. Initiatives by other arms of the government, such as defence and pharmaceuticals, are also tapping into various R&D infrastructure and resources funded by Meity, he added. Meity on Thursday made a presentation before the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology on the impact of the emergence of AI and related issues. Ministries of defence, home affairs and power also made presentations on the topic.
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Meity secretary calls for greater collaboration among govt, industry, academia
Greater convergence and synergies among government agencies, industry and academia will be key for India to leapfrog in its technology evolution, S Krishnan , secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ( Meity ), said Friday.'We are in the age of DeepSeek ,' said Krishnan, referring to the frugally built open-source artificial intelligence model from China that took the tech world by storm in January. He said a lot of work in AI and innovation would be on building on existing models and efforts to take things forward rather than greenfield research.'It's an interesting balance between… doing the whole thing ourselves as against making sure that we collaborate with the right partners to make sure that we are able to leapfrog,' the official was speaking at TecVerse, an exhibition of work being done by Meity's R&D arms Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology and Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research.A memorandum of understanding between software exporter Tata Consultancy Services and C-DAC was announced at the event. The two will partner on an Indian sovereign cloud ministry is looking to jointly fund a research centre on 2D materials with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, Krishnan by other arms of the government, such as defence and pharmaceuticals, are also tapping into various R&D infrastructure and resources funded by Meity, he on Thursday made a presentation before the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology on the impact of the emergence of AI and related issues. Ministries of defence, home affairs and power also made presentations on the topic.
