The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved setting up National Land Monetisation Corporation for central public sector enterprises (CPSE) asset monetisation. The Cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Second Schedule to the MMDR Act to specify the royalty rates of certain minerals, including potash, emerald and platinum group of metals.

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The National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) will be set up as a wholly-owned Government of India company with an initial authorised share capital of Rs 5,000 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs 150 crore. It will undertake the monetisation of surplus land and building assets of CPSEs.

"At present, CPSEs hold considerable surplus, unused and underused non-core assets in the nature of land and buildings. For CPSEs undergoing strategic disinvestment or closure, monetisation of these surplus land and non-core assets is important to unlock their value. NLMC will support and undertake monetisation of these assets," the statement said.

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NLMC will hire professionals from the private sector just as in the case of similar specialised government companies like the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Invest India, the statement said, adding that this was considering that real estate monetisation requires specialised skills and expertise in areas such as market research, legal due diligence, valuation, master planning, investment banking and land management.

The approval to amend the MMDR Act would ensure auction of mineral blocks in respect of glauconite, potash, emerald, platinum group of metals, andalusite and molybdenum thereby reducing imports of these minerals, an official release said.

It will also help generate empowerment opportunities in the mining sector as well as the manufacturing sector which will further help in ensuring inclusive growth of a large section of the society.

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The Mines Ministry had proposed reasonable rates of royalty in order to encourage better participation in the auction of mines. Without sharing any figure, it said the rates have been fixed after extensive consultations with the state governments and various ministries/departments of the central government.

The Ministry of Mines will provide a methodology for the calculation of the average sale price (ASP) of these minerals required for enabling the auction of these mineral blocks. The statement further said more than 146 blocks have been put up for auction in the financial year 2021-22. Of this, 34 blocks have been successfully auctioned in the financial year.

Specification of royalty and ASP for the minerals like glauconite/potash, emerald, platinum group of metals (PGM), andalusite and molybdenum would increase the number of blocks for auction.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)

First Published:Mar 9, 2022 3:26 PM IST