TEXMiN IIT (ISM) Dhanbad participated in a high-level policy dialogue hosted by NITI Aayog on the future of India’s mining and critical minerals sector.

The discussion brought together senior policymakers, including Vijay Kumar Saraswat and Suman K Bery, along with select deep-tech startups such as DeepMatrix and Bidaal. The dialogue focused on advancing Mining 4.0, strengthening critical mineral security, and enabling a technology-driven mining ecosystem.

TEXMiN highlighted the sector’s transition towards data-driven and autonomous operations, emphasising the need to integrate technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, automation, and geospatial intelligence. It also underscored challenges arising from India’s diverse mining landscape, comprising both large enterprises and MSMEs with varying levels of technological adoption.

Prof. Dheeraj Kumar, Deputy Director, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and Project Director, TEXMiN, said, “It was an important opportunity to engage in a constructive policy dialogue… initiatives like Mining 4.0 will be central to ensuring long-term competitiveness and self-reliance.”

The dialogue also examined the strategic importance of critical minerals in supporting clean energy, electric mobility and advanced manufacturing, with a focus on reducing import dependence through domestic capability building. TEXMiN emphasised the need for integrated value chains spanning exploration, processing, and circularity, supported by data-driven exploration models.

The participation reflects TEXMiN’s growing role in advancing innovation-led, sustainable mining aligned with India’s self-reliance and resource security goals.