NEW DELHI: In a bid to double the country’s mineral output, the government said it plans to invest about Rs 1,500 crore, lying in exploration trust.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said the mining industry is undergoing reforms through transformative investor-friendly interventions like the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act 2015, that introduced transparent and competitive auction process for grant of mineral concessions besides setting up of National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) to accelerate mineral exploration activity.
“More than Rs 1,500 crore has been accumulated in the NMET fund during the last three years. And as far as the information I have, today out of that ...around Rs 200 crores have been spent...For exploration activities there is a fund to invest,” he said.
Urging geo-scientists to come forward, the mines and coal minister further said, “the government aims to increase mineral production by 200 per cent in seven years.”
To boost mining, National Mineral Policy 2019 has been unveiled the proposes to attract private investment through various incentives like financial package, right of first refusal at the time of auction etc, he said, adding since the search for the near-surface deposits have reached a point of saturation, the country now faces the challenge of finding deep-seated and concealed mineral resources by applying state-of-the-art technologies.
The Geological Survey of India has almost doubled its exploration activity by implementing about 400 mineral exploration projects on various mineral commodities, he said, adding, the Centre has set up Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods.
For sustainable livelihoods
Apart from the District Mineral Foundation, to work for the interest and benefit of people and areas affected by mining related operations, the government has also set up the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKY) to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people