Accreditation scheme launched for prospecting, mining plan consultancies

An accreditation scheme has been launched for prospecting and mining plan preparation agencies, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Tuesday.

A recent notification of the Coal Ministry has mandated Quality Council of India-NABET for accreditation of prospecting and mining plan consultants.

The National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) will now start accepting the application under the scheme from consultants on its dedicated web portal, it said.

The accreditation scheme, it said, has been developed by NABET with inputs from various stakeholders including experts in the field, regulatory agencies and consultants.

"Through this accreditation scheme QCI-NABET will create the pool of credible and capable consultant organisations in the country for prospecting and mining plan preparation who will help in augmenting the commercial mining of the allocated coal blocks to private investors," it added. NABET is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI).