The centre will launch the second round of critical mineral mine auctions on Thursday. An official statement said, letters of financial grants will also be handed over to start-ups in mining and mineral sector. Besides these, Annual Capacity Building Plan for Geological Survey of India (GSI) will be released during the event.
First round of critical mineral bids was called in November 2023. This was made possible after an amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act earlier this fiscal. The centre also notified 24 minerals as being Critical and Strategic for the country, demand for which are usually met by imports. Critical minerals cater to the needs of sectors like renewable energy, defence, agriculture, pharmaceutical, high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transport, and creation of gigafactories among others.
