- Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy launched the National District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Portal.
- It is a centralized platform to gather the information on the District Mineral Foundations across the country.
- The portal has been launched with an aim to facilitate the access to the DMF data and track the developments and utilizations.
- This portal provides details of 645 DMFs in the country. It also features a repository of best practices for effective implementation.
- The minister also launched Mineral Exploration Hackathon. The Hackathon is focused on Innovative Mineral Hunt Techniques.
- It aims to encourage use of emerging technologies for geophysical data, integration of multiple mineral exploration data to identify new Mineral targets.
- Union Minister also gave certificates to 08 Preferred Bidders of the 2nd and 3rd tranche of the e-auction of Critical and Strategic Mineral Blocks.
District Mineral Foundation
- As per Section 9(B) of the Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Act, a District Mineral Foundation (DMF) is a non-profit body.
- State Government prescribes the composition and functions of District Mineral Foundation.
- DMFs work for the interest and benefit of persons, and areas affected by mining related operations in the manner as prescribed by the State Government.