Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the mineral sector should benchmark its operations against international standards and advise them to prepare an action plan.
Modi said this during a meeting to discuss potential economic reforms in the Mines and Coal Sectors to boost the economy in the context of Covid-19.
While reviewing the contribution of the mining sector to increasing employment opportunities and boosting growth, Modi focused on improving the country's self-reliance in mineral production and in-country processing.
“He exhorted using modern technologies for efficient mining. He also directed to aim for reducing delays in obtaining clearances and partnering with states to facilitate increase in private investment to boost the economy,” an official statement said.
Issues related to the reform of the auction structure, effective institutional arrangements, the participation of the private sector in exploration and mining, making the public sector more competitive as well as broad-based community development activities through the Mineral Development Fund were also discussed. Expanding and improving the evacuation infrastructure for minerals, including the use of sea routes for domestic supplies, was also considered.
While reviewing the performance of the coal sector, the Prime Minister gave directions for targeting the substitution of thermal coal imports, particularly when a large inventory of coal stocks is available in the country this year. Potential reforms were also discussed in relation to the enhancement of efficient and environmentally sound first-mile connectivity for coal transport from mines to rail sliding, automatic loading on rail wagons, coal gasification and liquefaction, and exploration of coal bed methane.
An important part of the discussions was also the auctioning of additional blocks, encouraging wider participation in auctions, increasing the production of mineral resources, reducing mining costs and transport costs, increasing business ease and also reducing the carbon footprint with environmentally sustainable development.
