With the expiry of mining leases (MLs) for 354 mines across India fast approaching and delayed fresh auctions looming large, sharp differences have surfaced among various stakeholders in the sector. The narrative until now among a section of stakeholders has been of an impending shortage of minerals if the government fails to auction the new MLs, but as the March 2020 deadline for the expiry of the MLs draws close, various sections of mining and mineral-based industries are opposing this stance and even discounting any possibility of mineral shortages in the medium term.
