India, April 7 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
The Ministry of Mines has notified the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026 on 30th March, 2026 for faster operationalisation of mines. This is the latest step of the Government in series of reforms for enhancing efficiency, transparency, and ease of doing business in the mining sector.
Previously, the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 were amended on 17th October 2025 to, inter alia, introduce intermediary timelines for various activities to be completed after issue of letter of intent (LoI) till execution of mining lease. An amount of 1% of performance security will be appropriated for each month of delay in completion of timelines by the preferred bidder. The said amendment also provided incentives for early operationalisation of mines and for automatic declaration of preferred bidder on completion of auction. The rules also provided that in case the State Government does not issue LoI to the preferred bidder within 30 days of performance security or 1st instalment of upfront amount or both (as applicable) by the bidder, the amount of 2nd instalment of upfront payment payable to the State Government shall reduce by 5% for the delay of each month. This provision was made keeping in view the importance of timely issuance of LoI by the State Governments in operationalisation of mines.
Other steps taken by the Ministry of Mines for faster operationalisation of mines includes, conduct of regular meetings with the State Governments, setting up a project monitoring unit in the Ministry to monitor operationalisation of mines, implementation of Mining Dashboard for tracking clearance progress of auctioned blocks towards operationalization and highlighting delays at various level to enable timely corrective action, auction of mineral blocks with pre-embedded clearances and incentives to the States.
Ministry of Mines has made the present amendments in the Mineral (Auction) Rules to bring reforms in the mineral sector after consultation with the Central Ministries, State Governments, Industry Associations and Stakeholders.
Key Highlights of the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026 are as follows:-
These amendments are aimed to accelerate mineral development, facilitate timely operationalization of mines, encourage private sector participation, and strengthen the regulatory framework governing mineral auctions in India.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
