Coal, Mines and Steel Parliamentary Committee to meet at 11 am today to discuss KABIL initiative
New Delhi, May 29
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel is set to meet on Friday in the Parliament Library Building to discuss and recieve inputs from officials on 'India's quest for Global Critical Minerals'.
The agenda of the meeting, chaired by Hamirpur MP and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Anurag Thakur, includes oral evidence of the representatives of the Ministry of Mines on the subject 'KABIL: India's quest for Global Critical Minerals' and oral evidence of the representatives of the NITI Aayog on the subject 'KABIL: India's quest for Global Critical Minerals.' Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), is a Joint Venture Company among the three Government Enterprises: National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) and Mineral Exploration & Consultancy Limited (MECL), in the ratio of 40:30:30, under the aegis of Ministry of Mines. The company is mandated "to identify, explore, acquire, develop, mine, process, procure strategic minerals outside India for supplying primarily to India, to meet domestic requirements due to its non or meagre availability in the country and giving a big push to Make in India."KABIL is currently focusing on sourcing Lithium and Cobalt from overseas countries having rich potential of these minerals, by acquisition of mineral assets, or long-term investment in critical mineral and metal projects, through G2G, G2B and B2B engagements based on detail Due diligence, according to Union Ministry of Mines' website. "Active engagement is in progress with the Latin American countries and Australia," the Ministry has said.
Earlier on May 25, Secretary of Ministry of Mines, Piyush Goyal, IAS, chaired the 9th monthly Review Meeting with senior officials of the Ministry and Category-A mineral-bearing States to review the progress of mineral block auctions and operationalisation across the country. The meeting focused on accelerating reforms in the mining sector, enhancing domestic mineral production, and ensuring the timely operationalisation of auctioned mineral blocks.
During the meeting, it was highlighted that since the introduction of the auction regime in 2015, a total of 108 mineral blocks were successfully auctioned during the period from FY 2015-16 to FY 2020-21. The pace of auctions witnessed a significant increase thereafter, with 364 mineral blocks successfully auctioned between FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25, averaging about 90 blocks per year, according to an official release from the Ministry of Mines.
In FY 2025-26 alone, a record 212 mineral blocks have been successfully auctioned, marking the highest number of mineral block auctions conducted in a single financial year since the commencement of the auction regime. This achievement includes the auction of 22 critical and strategic mineral blocks, reflecting the Government's continued focus on securing critical mineral resources essential for India's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The meeting also reviewed the operationalisation status of auctioned blocks. It was informed that during FY 2025-26, a total of 36 mineral blocks, including 28 greenfield blocks and 8 brownfield blocks, have been operationalised as compared to 58 blocks comprising 20 greenfield and 38 brownfield blocks operationalised during the entire period from FY 2015-16 to FY 2024-25.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good to see the Parliamentary Committee taking this up. But I wonder—are we also investing in domestic exploration? India has its own rare earth deposits, but they're often stuck in red tape or NIMBY issues. The mining sector reforms are welcome, but we need to balance extraction with environmental and community rights. Also, what's the timeline for KABIL to actually start supplying minerals? Hope it's not just another talk-shop.
As someone who works in the mining sector, this is a huge step forward. The jump from ~108 blocks in 5 years to 364 in 4 years shows the government means business. KABIL's G2G focus is smart—diplomacy can unlock assets that private companies can't. But I'm curious: why only Nalco, HCL and MECL? Why not bring in more PSUs or even private players? And the operationalisation stats still lag—36 blocks in FY2025-26 vs 58 in the entire previous decade? Need to speed up clearances.
I've been following India's critical mineral strategy from abroad (I'm Indian but work in London). This is the right direction, but the execution will make or break it. China dominates lithium processing, so even if we secure mines in Argentina or Australia, we need downstream capacity too. Also, the state government cooperation in the review meeting is key—many mineral-rich states like Odisha and Jharkhand need to be on board. Let's hope this isn't derailed by bureaucratic delays! 🙏
All this talk of auctions and global mining is fine, but what about the local impact? In my district, mining has caused water issues and displacement. The article says 212 blocks auctioned this year—are there adequate safeguards? Also, KABIL going abroad is good, but we should also push for
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