Centre ties ₹5,175 crore to mine reforms
New Delhi: The finance ministry has firmed up guidelines for states to claim incentives worth ₹5,175 crore for expediting operationalisation of mines, improving mineral production
New Delhi: The finance ministry has firmed up guidelines for states to claim incentives worth ₹5,175 crore for expediting operationalisation of mines, improving mineral production and implementing key governance reforms under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2026-27.States will need to bring 79 auctioned major mineral and critical mineral blocks into production, equivalent to 10% of the 684 blocks auctioned by states and the Centre until March 31, as per the guidelines.132469009States will have to operationalise the mines by December 31.
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh need to operationalise at least 13 mines each to qualify for the incentive, Odisha eight, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh seven each, Gujarat six and Maharashtra five, with the rest to be done by other states. Of the total outlay, ₹ 2,500 crore has been earmarked for operationalisation of mines, ₹2,000 crore for implementation of mining reforms and ₹675 crore for rewarding top performers under the State Mining Readiness Index.
The biggest incentive is linked to operationalisation of mines. States will receive ₹20 crore for every major mineral block auctioned during 2026-27, with forest, environment
and land clearances already in place, subject to a maximum payout of ₹200 crore.
The BriefWire