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India to seek 15 billion of investment to double mining output

India expects to woo Rs.1 trillion ($15 billion) of investment over five years to double mining output and cut mineral imports.The government’s goal is to fast-track exploration, including upfront payments for discovered deposits when the mines are auctioned, mines minister Piyush Goyal said in an interview.

The administration will invite foreign companies to participate, he said, while acknowledging challenges such as land acquisition and environmental hurdles.“We’re working to change the rules of the game from doing small amounts of exploration in an incremental fashion to doing it on a fast-track, one-shot, big-picture way,” Goyal, 52, said on Saturday in New Delhi. There’s “easily” scope to pour Rs.50 billion into the search for deposits, he said.

The world’s fastest-growing major economy will need increasing supplies of everything from iron ore to coal to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s objective of faster development powered by more manufacturing.India expects to woo Rs.1 trillion ($15 billion) of investment over five years to double mining output and cut mineral imports.The government’s goal is to fast-track exploration, including upfront payments for discovered deposits when the mines are auctioned, mines minister Piyush Goyal said.