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
