State Mining Ministers’ Conference in Bhopal on January 23

     New Delhi, January 20, 2024: The 2nd State Mining Ministers’ Conference is going to be held in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal on January 23, next.

     The focal point of the conference is to develop strategies and increase the effectiveness of the new policy reforms brought out by the Union Government.

     Considering the vital role of mineral exploration in the country in meeting the global demand for minerals in coming decades, Union Government is holding this State Mining Ministers’ Conference to strengthen the ties between the Ministry of Mines and various state governments and discuss strategies required to achieve the goals being set for the Mining sector, Mining Ministry sources said.

     Union Minister of Mines, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi will preside over the function. Dr. Mohan Yadav, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh will be the Chief Guest of the Conference.

     Mining Industry has always played a vital role in the economic growth of the country. Ministry of Mines has been laying emphasis on increasing exploration and following sustainable mining practices in the country for fulfilling the vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.

     The focus is also on exploration of ‘Critical and Strategic Minerals’ for making India self-reliant in these minerals. 

     This 2nd Conference of State Mining Ministers provides opportunities to discuss and deliberate issues pertaining to the mining sector paving way to implement the reforms done in the mining sector, Ministry sources said. 

     The Conference will serve as a platform for collaboration on various aspects of mining, including exploration, environmental sustainability, mineral processing, technology adoption and policy reforms.

     The Conference will also showcase best practices followed by the States and Success Stories of various States, providing a platform for peer learning and experience sharing that would be instrumental in fostering partnership and identifying sustainable solutions to face the challenges in the mining industry.

     During the Conference three Best Performing States in the Mining Sector will be felicitated. While the ASP Module of Mining Tenement System and Launch of a new template for Star Rating System will be introduced. The participating State Mining Ministers will share their views to strengthen the mining sector.

     A new provision for grant of exploration license has been made for mineral specified in the Seventh Schedule of the MMDR Act, 1957 to encourage participation of private sectors in the exploration of critical and strategic minerals considering their importance to the national economy.

      In order to give impetus to the exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals, the Ministry of Mines has launched a new scheme to directly sanction exploration projects for these critical and strategic minerals to Notified Private Exploration Agencies (NPEA).   

     Further, the Ministry has also allowed these NPEAs to bid for auctioning of mineral blocks explored by them which were not allowed earlier. Rules for the new regime of Exploration License will be unveiled during the Conference. 

     In this Conference, a total of 87 Geological Reports will be handed over to various State Governments. Apart from this, 5 Coal Block Exploration Reports will also be handed over to Ministry of Coal.