National Mineral Policy
The National Mineral Policy, 2008, seeks to address areas of serious concern in mining sector relating inter-alia to:
(i) making the regulatory mechanism more conducive to technology and investment flows by ensuring greater transparency in allocation of mineral concessions, seamlessness and security of tenure in the concession processes,
(ii) strengthening the role of Geological Survey of India, Indian Bureau of Mines, and State Directorates of Mining and Geology,
(iii) developing and enforcing a Sustainable Development Framework ensuring stakeholder rights to the indigenous population and that the mining activity takes place along with suitable measures for restoration of the ecological balance,
(iv) discourage and prevent sub-optimal and unscientific mining by promoting zero-waste mining,
(v) developing new concession instruments to attract high technology for incentivizing exploration of large areas, and
(vi) developing a cluster approach to mining of small deposits in a scientific and efficient manner.