‘Empowering MSMEs to enhance exports, access to technology’

Amit Bhargava, Partner and National Head, Mining & Metals, KPMG in India, said “Union Budget 2025 has recognized and empowered the aspirations of the metals and mining sector to further strengthen its global positioning, in terms of scale of production, greener product offerings and increased innovation.
The budget supports specifically in realizing mining potential, availability of digital capabilities, increasing value chain competitiveness, enabling energy transition and decarbonization, encouraging critical minerals related circularity and logistics efficiency.”

Some of the key takeaways are:
• Minor minerals mining and critical minerals recovery from tailings is a step to realize the potential of mining and availability of critical minerals (including exemption/ reduction of BCD on key critical minerals)
• Empowering MSMEs to enhance exports, access to technology and funding would be a step for improving the competitiveness of sector’s downstream value chain
• Clean technology focus that helps establishing domestic solar/ EV related manufacturing would be critical in further expediting the energy transition of the sector
• Centre of Excellence for AI and emphasis on Industry 4.0 would be instrumental in ensuring availability of key digital capabilities, so critically required by the sector
• India post infrastructure to be leveraged in bringing in greater logistics efficiencies