Moving expeditiously to resume the process of mines allocation, the Mines Ministry has appointed investment banker SBI Capital Markets to suggest rules for auctions and the bidding parameters for selection.SBI Capital Markets is the investment banking arm of the state-owned lender State Bank of India.The move, which comes around 15 days after the President promulgated the mines ordinance paving the way for introduction of auction system for allocation of mines, will help the Centre to fulfil its role laid out in the ordinance.
The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 2015 prescribes that the Centre would stipulate the terms and conditions and the procedures subject to which the auction would be conducted for allocation of all mines.The Centre is also supposed to lay out the bidding parameters for the selection which may include a share in the production of the mineral or any payment linked to the royalty payable or a combination of the two. "The Centre has appointed SBI Capital Markets to suggest the rules and the terms and conditions based on which auctions would be conducted.