India is endowed with a vast and diverse mineral resource wealth. Continuous exploration of mineral resources helps unlocking the true mining potential of the Country and promotes sustainable and secured growth of end use sectors.
Since 2015-16, over 143 exploration reports at G2/G3 level have been handed over to the State Government(s) by Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL). GSI, an attached office under Ministry of Mines, has contributed to 108 reports, whereas, MECL, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Mines has handed over 35 reports. In addition to these reports, GSI also finalised 24 exploration reports in 2019-20 and had expectedly handed over them to State Governments. MECL was reportedly carrying out exploration for various minerals in 28 more blocks during 2020-21. Out of 143 exploration reports handed over to the states, 58 were of limestone minerals. A State wise summary of exploration reports submitted to various State Governments is as follows:
| S no | Name of the State | Total G2/G3 Reports submitted to states by GSI from Field Survey 2015-2019 | Total G2/G3 Reports submitted to states by MECL from Field Survey 2015-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odisha | 9 | 5 |
| 2 | Jharkhand | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Assam | 2 | - |
| 4 | Meghalaya | 15 | 1 |
| 5 | Uttar Pradesh | 4 | - |
| 6 | Haryana | 5 | - |
| 7 | Rajasthan | 19 | 2 |
| 8 | Chhattisgarh | 9 | 5 |
| 9 | Andhra Pradesh | 4 | - |
| 10 | Gujarat | 4 | - |
| 11 | Maharashtra | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Telangana | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Tamil Nadu | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Kerala | 1 | - |
| 15 | Madhya Pradesh | 18 | 6 |
| 16 | Karnataka | 9 | 5 |
| Total | 108 | 35 | |
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