Centre Presses for Faster Mine Startups at National Mining Summit

Overview

• Union minister G. Kishan Reddy urged states to cut clearance timelines and move from auction to operation far sooner, citing a nine-month startup in Assam versus the usual five to seven years.
• The Ministry of Mines opened the three-day Rashtriya Khanij Chintan Shivir in Gandhinagar to tighten Centre–state coordination on reforms, technology and sustainability.
• Reddy promoted urban mining of e-waste under a newly introduced recycling incentive scheme and noted exploration is up about 190% since 2014 with mineral output growing in double digits.
• Andhra Pradesh’s Kollu Ravindra highlighted 2025–26 tenders for 41 major blocks and 10 completed auctions, detailed new state policies, and sought a mineral processing park and a Centre of Excellence at Machilipatnam.
• Speakers emphasized priorities that include critical minerals, digital single-window approvals, next-generation exploration tools, and positioning India as a global processing hub.