The National Critical & Strategic Minerals Committee, constituted by NITI Aayog, on Thursday called  for coordinated action involving the Central, State governments, public sector undertakings and private mining companies to accelerate exploration.

The second meeting of the National Critical & Strategic Minerals Committee, constituted by NITI Aayog, was held at Singareni Bhavan here under the chairmanship of DK Singh. 

Observing those critical minerals were central in supporting India’s long-term economic growth, clean energy transition and technological advancement, the committee said minerals such as lithium, rare earth elements, cobalt and nickel were essential for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, electronics, defence and advanced manufacturing sectors.

While India possessed reserves of certain critical minerals, limited exploration and mining activities had led to continued import dependence. With demand projected to rise significantly, the Committee called for coordinated action involving central and state governments, public sector undertakings and private mining companies.

There was a need to accelerate exploration, strengthen research and development, and foster strategic partnerships to harness the country’s untapped mineral potential, the panel members said in their deliberations. 

SCCL

Buddhaprakash Jyoti, Chairman and Managing Director of Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) and Member of the Committee, said SCCL was commitment to the National Critical Mineral Mission. 

The company was exploring the extraction of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) from overburden and clays in coal seams of its opencast mines, he added. 

Efforts are also underway to recover valuable minerals from fly ash and bottom ash generated at the Singareni Thermal Power Plant. “These initiatives reflect SCCL’s commitment to sustainable mining and responsible resource utilisation,’’ he said, according to a release. 

Published on February 26, 2026

The insurance company currently has around 7,000 agents
| Photo Credit:
Lilit Amirkhanian

Ageas Federal Life Insurance plans to bring down the bancassurance contribution to its premium income from around 75 per cent at present to around 60 per cent in the next three years, when the insurer aims to grow the agency strength by over three-fold.

The life insurance company is a joint venture of Belgium’s largest insurer Ageas and private sector lender Federal Bank.

“We had one channel and bank partner specific bancassurance. Now, we are trying to create other channels. For instance, we have a huge business plan in terms of growing our agency, growing our direct sales, growing our digital and also coming up with one or two other channels,” said Ageas Federal Life Insurance MD & CEO Jude Gomes. 

At present around 75 per cent of its business in terms of annualised premium equivalent (APE) is coming from the bancassurance channel, down from over 90 per cent around 15 months ago.

“We want to really de-risk our investment and our production. While the Federal Bank (contribution to premium income) will grow, but again, others will grow faster so that we can take the foundation pillars to the next level. If you look at the industry, about 60 per cent is bancassurance. So, we will be hovering somewhere around 60 per cent in the next three years,” Gomes told businessline.

The insurance company currently has around 7,000 agents, and it plans to grow the agency strength by more than three-fold in the next three years.

The insurer’s goal as an organisation is to come to the top 10 in the country’s life insurance industry in terms of market share in the next three years and triple its business during the same time.

The life insurance company is expanding its product portfolio to increase its premium going ahead.

“We are re-looking at our product portfolio so that we can become much more customer-centric. There are spaces, for instance, the annuity and pension, where we were not active. We are going there. We were not too aggressive in the term insurance. So we have gone into term insurance in a big way,” Gomes added.

The life insurance company’s first year premium grew 11.47 per cent year-on-year to ₹1,338.28 crore for the last financial year from ₹1,200.57 crore for the previous financial year, according to figures released by Irdai.

Published on February 26, 2026

As of December, 2025, mutual funds collectively owned 11.79 per cent of the bank
| Photo Credit:
cueapi

The Reserve Bank of India has accorded its approval to SBI Mutual Fund to acquire up to 9.99 per cent in the private sector lender Bandhan Bank.

The approval has been given pursuant to the information furnished by the fund house to the RBI, Bandhan Bank said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

“Reserve Bank of India vide its letter dated February 25, 2026, accorded its approval to SBI Mutual Fund to acquire “aggregate holding” of up to 9.99 per cent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in Bandhan Bank,” it said.

According to the filing, the approval granted by RBI is subject to compliance with the relevant provisions of different acts. “The RBI has also conveyed that if the applicant fails to acquire major shareholding within a period of one year from the date of its letter, this approval shall stand cancelled. The applicant has also been advised to ensure that their “aggregate holding” in the bank does not exceed 9.99 per cent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the bank, at all times,” it said.

If the “aggregate holding” of SBI Mutual Fund falls below 5 per cent at any point of time, prior approval of the RBI will be required to increase it to 5 per cent or more of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the Kolkata-based lender.

As of December, 2025, mutual funds collectively owned 11.79 per cent of the bank. Among individual mutual fund schemes, SBI Balanced Advantage Fund, part of SBI MF, held a 3.45 per cent stake in Bandhan Bank at the end of third quarter this fiscal.

On Thursday, Bandhan Bank scrip ended the day at ₹186.10 apiece on BSE, up 1.81 per cent from the previous close. 

Published on February 26, 2026