Chhattisgarh’s State-level Geological Program Board held its 25th meeting today at the New Circuit House in Civil Lines as part of the state’s Silver Jubilee celebrations. The meeting was chaired by P. Dayanand, Secretary of the Department of Mineral Resources and President of the Geological Program Board, and attended by Rajat Bansal, Director of Geology and Mining, along with representatives from various central and state government departments and enterprises. The main focus of the meeting was to discuss better use of the state’s mineral resources, plan new mining projects, and review last year’s achievements.
Officials shared that during 2024-25, Chhattisgarh earned around Rs 15,000 crore from mining, marking a 34% increase compared to 2023-24. This growth is expected to strengthen the state’s economy and create new opportunities for investment in the mining sector.
Mining as the Backbone of Comprehensive Development
According to P. Dayanand, the Chief Minister’s secretary, minerals are the foundation of any state or nation’s overall development.A new age of growth in the state has begun with the discovery of crucial and important minerals.In order to create new mineral-based companies, he underlined that the many minerals found in Chhattisgarh should be investigated methodically and sustainably.
In order to discover vital minerals for Chhattisgarh’s overall growth, all departments and institutions engaged in exploration were encouraged to make use of their knowledge, assets, and cutting-edge technology.Additionally, Secretary Dayanand recommended that departments involved in mining development coordinate and exchange production statistics.
Key Findings and Future Plans
Rajat Bansal, Director of Geology and Mining, provided an overview of regional activities completed in 2024-25. He stated that approximately 2,500 million tonnes of limestone and about 93 million tonnes of iron ore reserves were estimated during the year. The exploration projects planned for the regional session 2025-26 will focus on strategic and important minerals. This project is expected to be a decisive step toward meeting the country’s mineral requirements, strengthening the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, and promoting sustainable and self-reliant development in strategic sectors. “The government of Chhattisgarh is dedicated to providing full support for scientific and detailed mineral exploration and development,” he continued.
The Government of India’s Ministry of Mines authorised one NMET exploration project for bauxite and one for limestone in Chhattisgarh during 2024–2025.NMET also authorised two requests from notified private exploration agencies for state exploration activity, one for iron ore and one for rare earth metals such as lithium, niobium, tantalum, and titanium. The department has taken significant steps to strengthen exploration and mineral processing through collaboration with private institutions.
Updates on Mineral Exploration
Representatives from central and state government departments and enterprises also presented updates on mineral exploration conducted in Chhattisgarh. Dr Amit Dharwarkar, Deputy Director General of the Geological Survey of India, shared that surveys were conducted in various districts for bauxite, gold, glauconite, lithium, titanium, rare earth metals, phosphorite, fluorite, lead, and zinc. For 2025-26, a total of 29 projects on different minerals are underway. The Directorate of Geology and Mining, Chhattisgarh, approved a total of 11 exploration projects for survey/preliminary study in 2025-26. These include 2 projects for strategic and critical minerals, 2 for glauconite, 1 for lepidolite, 2 for limestone, 2 for iron ore, and 2 for bauxite.
The meeting was attended by Regional Controller Prem Prakash of IBM Raipur, Regional Mining Geologist D. Das, Deputy Director General Amit A. Dharwarkar of GSI Raipur, S.R. Manthanwar, Regional Director of AMD Central Region, and officials from NMDC, CIL, Vedanta, UltraTech, Deccan Gold, and other related departments.
