36 mineral blocks at various stages of auction process

A total of 36 mineral blocks are at various stages of auction process, the Parliament was informed today.
"As per the information provided by the state governments, at present a total 36 mineral blocks are at various stages of auction process," Minister of state for mines and coal Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
That apart, from 2015-16 till date, 34 mineral blocks have already gone under the hammer. Of these, 13 were auctioned in the ongoing fiscal till date, 15 mines were bid out in the last fiscal and six blocks in 2015-16, the minister said.

The mineral auction rules have been amended by the mines ministry to make the auction process simpler and to help the states auction mineral blocks quickly.
The major amendments in the rules include providing more flexibility to state governments in the auction process, relaxation in net worth requirement for increased participation of bidders and adjustment of upfront payment in full at the earliest as against the revenue share mode, the minister said.