The Union Cabinet of the Government of India has approved the National Mineral Exploration Policy, 2016 (NMEP) which aims at accelerating mineral exploration in the country by allowing higher participation of the private sector by prioritizing public expenditure on detailed exploration activities. The NMEP provides for availability of geo – scientific data in the public domain, conduct of research on a public private partnership basis, initiatives for conduct of search of concealed deposits and maintenance of a dedicated geoscience database.
The NMEP further states that the Ministry of Mines of the Government of India, shall auction out identified blocks on revenue sharing basis and reimbursement of the successful bidder in case of non – discovery of resources. Further, baseline geoscientific data shall be available in the public domain free of any charges. The NMEP envisages the creation of a non – profit institution, the National Centre for Mineral Targeting for the purpose of collaboration for scientific research activities. The NMEP also provides for conduct of a state – of – the – art National Aero – geophysical Mapping Program for the purposes of delineation of deep – seated and concealed mineral deposits from the air.
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