Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy Launches 2nd Tranche of Exploration Licence Blocks

Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy has launched the 2nd tranche of auction of Exploration Licence (EL) blocks, marking a major step towards strengthening India’s mineral exploration ecosystem.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister said that India must reduce its dependence on imported minerals by fast-tracking domestic exploration and encouraging stronger participation from the private sector alongside government agencies. He stressed that a structured, transparent and technology-driven exploration model is crucial to unlocking the country’s untapped mineral resources and achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

Highlighting the importance of critical minerals Reddy noted that an efficient exploration regime will be central to enhancing India’s self-reliance in the mining sector. Referring to ongoing reforms, he remarked that the government is pursuing a “reform express” across sectors, with the mining industry witnessing transformational changes aimed at improving transparency, efficiency and investment.

During the event, the Minister also launched the Next-Generation (NG) Portal of the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The cloud-enabled platform integrates data acquisition, analysis, visualisation and dissemination, and is equipped with AI and machine learning tools. The portal is interoperable with the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) and is expected to significantly improve data-driven decision-making and transparency in mineral exploration.

Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Piyush Goyal, said that Tranche-II represents a major push towards accelerating growth in the mineral sector. He noted that following the positive response to Tranche-I, the second tranche comprises 11 blocks of critical and deep-seated minerals across eight States.

He added that the Exploration Licence regime introduced under the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023, along with the Mineral (Auction) Amendment Rules, 2023, has strengthened transparency, improved ease of doing business and widened opportunities for participation by both public and private sector entities.

Presentations at the event covered key aspects of the new regime, including Exploration Licence blocks under Tranche-II by GSI, the Exploration Licence framework and mineral auction process by SBICAPS, the e-auction process on the MSTC portal, and the partial reimbursement scheme for exploration expenses by the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET).

The launch and roadshow of Tranche-II were attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Mines and related agencies, underscoring the government’s push to build a transparent and investor-friendly mineral exploration framework aligned with long-term national development goals.