31 Minerals to be notified from major to Minor in India

The Ministry of Mines in India  will notify 31 additional minerals as minor minerals. These minerals are currently under the list of major minerals. Notifying them as minor minerals will give regulatory and administrative powers to the State Governments over these minerals. This is being done with the intention to devolve more power to the States, and consequently expedite the process of mineral development in the country.

After being notified as minor minerals, State Governments can frame rules, prescribe rates of royalty, contribution to District Mineral Foundation and decide on the procedure for granting mineral concessions for these 31 minerals. These minerals account for over 55% of the total number of leases and nearly 60% of total leased area. Further  in order to strengthen the mineral inventory database of India, the Government is planning to notify PSUs to carry out prospecting work and  the Geological Survey of India has plans to scale-up exploration operations.