Government initiates e-auction for 7 vital mineral blocks

02 Apr 2024 CW Team

The Ministry of Mines has announced that May 16 will be the final day for the sale of tender documents for participating in the e-auction of seven critical mineral blocks under the tranche III round. It was also specified that the deadline for submitting the documents would be May 21.

It was clarified by the Ministry that these seven blocks were part of the 11 blocks from a previous auction that was canceled due to having less than three Technically Qualified Bidders (TQB).

Moreover, the e-auction process for 18 blocks under tranche II is currently underway. The closing date for the sale of Tender Document is set for May 10, 2024, and the deadline for submitting bids is May 15.

Furthermore, it was stated by the ministry that the second round of e-auctions for six blocks has been successfully concluded as per schedule. A decision regarding the Kundol Nickel and Chromium Block of Gujurat will be made by the designated officer at the appropriate time.

Critical minerals, including lithium, chromium, nickel, graphite, cobalt, titanium, and rare earth elements (REE), are crucial for India's economic progress and national security. At present, the extraction of these minerals is largely controlled by a few countries, notably China, which renders the supply chain susceptible to geopolitical uncertainties.

These critical minerals are indispensable for various sectors such as electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, defense, high-tech telecommunications, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and the establishment of gigafactories. The demand for these minerals is significant and is primarily met through imports.

Real Estate

02 Apr 2026

Indian real estate attracts USD 1.4 bn institutional investments in Q1 2026: Vestian

Institutional investments in India’s real estate sector touched USD 1.4 billion in Q1 2026, marking the highest first-quarter inflow since 2022, according to Vestian. While investments fell 62 per cent quarter-on-quarter due to an exceptionally high base in the previous quarter, they rose 74 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting sustained investor confidence despite rising geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.Commercial real estate remained the key driver of investment activity during the quarter, accounting for 80 per cent of total inflows, sharply higher than 38 p..

VECV crosses 1 lakh annual vehicle sales milestone in FY26

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, has surpassed the 1 lakh annual sales mark in FY 2025–26, recording its highest-ever commercial vehicle sales performance. The company said it sold more than 100,000 vehicles during the year, marking a major milestone aligned with the original vision of the Volvo–Eicher joint venture.The strong performance was supported by demand across categories. Light and Medium Duty (LMD) trucks contributed 47,789 units, accounting for 46.1 per cent of total sales. Heavy Duty (HD) trucks recorded 26,867 units (25.9 pe..

Rodic Digital & Advisory partners SatSure to deploy EO intelligence in public sector

Rodic Digital & Advisory (RDA), the strategic advisory and digital transformation arm of Rodic Consultants, has signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SatSure to jointly pursue opportunities in India’s public sector. The collaboration aims to integrate high-resolution Earth Observation (EO) data and geospatial AI into government workflows to strengthen monitoring, compliance, and operational decision-making across key sectors.The partnership combines SatSure’s Earth intelligence capabilities with RDA’s expertise in government digital transformation and ..