New Delhi, March 25 The Centre on Wednesday directed all states to expedite ongoing exploration projects, ensure faster approvals, and improve coordination to significantly reduce the time between exploration and auction, a move aimed at strengthening the nation's critical mineral security amid global supply chain disruptions.
Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy also emphasized the need to adopt advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, drone-based surveys, and modern beneficiation techniques, to increase efficiency and success rates in mineral discovery.
The minister also stressed the greater inclusion of startups, private exploration agencies, and innovation-driven institutions, in line with the Startup India vision, to bring new ideas and cutting-edge solutions into the exploration ecosystem.
Reddy chaired the 7th governing body meeting of the National Mineral Exploration & Development Trust (NMEDT), held here in the august presence of Minister of State for the Department of Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh.
A total of 76 projects for critical mineral exploration have been sanctioned during 2025-26. So far, 45 NMEDT-funded blocks have been auctioned, including 10 blocks of critical minerals. There has also been a significant increase in private sector participation through several facilitating initiatives.
These reforms collectively aim to strengthen India's mineral exploration framework, ensure the availability of critical minerals, accelerate project execution, promote private and startup participation, adopt modern technologies, and advance sustainable mineral development in the country.