NEW DELHI: Coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday launched the second round of auctions for exploration licences covering 11 blocks of critical and deep-seated minerals across eight states. The licences will allow exploration of rare earth minerals in Telangana, Rajasthan and Odisha, along with diamond, vanadium, titanium and other minerals in additional states.The minister said the second tranche builds on the strong response to the first round, deepening private sector participation under the new exploration regime and promoting technologically advanced exploration practices. He also launched the Geological Survey of India’s Next-Generation Portal — a cloud-enabled platform integrating data acquisition, analysis, visualisation and dissemination.As global competition for critical minerals intensifies, Reddy said resilient supply chains are essential for strategic security and underscored the country’s push to reduce import dependence and achieve mineral self-reliance under the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision.“India is working to reduce import dependence and achieve mineral self-reliance in line with the Viksit Bharat vision,” the minister said, highlighting mining sector reforms aimed at building a robust exploration ecosystem.He also referred to the expanded scope of the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust and a “whole-of-govt” approach to strengthening exploration, data integration, data-driven decision-making and systematic identification of mineral prospects.