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India needs a coordinated policy push across mineral exploration, mining, manufacturing, logistics and trade to unlock the potential of its mining and metals sector, NITI Aayog said in a report on Wednesday.
The report has called for faster operationalisation of mines, a more predictable auction and regulatory regime, lower logistics and export-finance costs, better access to renewable energy and stronger preparedness for the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Despite its large mineral resource base, India has attracted only $3.5 billion in cumulative FDI equity inflows into mining between 2000 and 2025, accounting for less than 0.5% of the country’s overall long-term cumulative foreign equity inflows.
“This suggests that India’s geological potential has not yet been fully translated into sustained international investment,” NITI Aayog said in its latest Trade Watch Quarterly report, pointing to the need to improve the regulatory framework, infrastructure and availability of geoscientific information.
The MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, the report noted, could help address some of these constraints by restricting state-level taxes and levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land. The move is aimed at creating a more uniform and predictable fiscal regime, reducing the cumulative burden on mining projects and improving investor confidence.
India has a limited share of the $2 trillion global import market, with exports of only $36.8 billion, or 1.8%, of global demand in 2025. India accounted for 2.1% of global metals demand and 0.5% of ores demand.
Iron and steel and articles of iron and steel alone account for 50.9% of global metals demand, but India captures only 2.5% of this market, the report said.
To expand the domestic resource base, the report recommended strengthening the ecosystem for exploration companies by improving access to geological data, risk capital and fiscal support. It also called for faster auctioning and operationalisation of lapsed iron-ore blocks and predictable auction pipelines.
On regulatory issues, the report proposed extending the validity of Certified Compliance Reports, reducing repetitive scrutiny across approval stages and simplifying forest-clearance procedures. It also recommended more efficient mechanisms for compensatory afforestation and clearer norms for brownfield capacity expansion.
Logistics costs should also be addressed through faster development of slurry pipelines and a review of GST treatment for pipelines located outside factory premises, it said.
The report flagged CBAM as a growing risk for Indian steel and aluminium exports. It recommended uniform renewable-energy open-access rules, greater renewable-energy banking and rationalisation of wheeling and cross-subsidy charges. India should also expand accredited CBAM verification facilities and address concerns over default emission values.
TOPICSminingThis article was first uploaded on September sixteen, twenty twenty-six, at forty-three minutes past eleven in the night. © The Indian Express (P) Ltd