Stakeholders advocate for segregating committed bidders from others in mine auctions to address regulatory concerns. Gouranga Sen, Group Head of Economic & Policy Analysis at Vedanta Limited, stressed the importance of distinguishing serious participants from non-serious ones during a panel discussion at Economic Times Infra's Global Metals and Mining event in New Delhi.
Sen proposed shifting from progressive to single-stage bidding for mine auctions to differentiate serious and non-serious bidders.
According to Suresh Chandra Suman, director of mines at NLC India Limited, the policy shift towards auctioning mines has significantly enhanced transparency, benefiting states where mines are auctioned. The amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act of 2015 mandated auctioning mineral concessions to ensure fairness in resource allocation.
Suman highlighted the auction process's positive outcomes, particularly in states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Addressing the debate on reverting to administrative allotment of mines, as was the practice before the regulatory reforms, Navneet Kumar, Head of Business Development & Operations at Skill Council for Mining Sector, advocated for continuing the auction process. He stressed the need for India, as a growing economy, to generate revenue through mine auctions.
Panel members underscored coal's continued significance as the most cost-effective energy source and prioritized sustainable extraction practices. V.K. Shukla, General Manager at Central Coalfields Ltd, projected India's annual coal production to reach 1.5 billion tonnes by 2030.