C’garh Frames Mineral Policy To Ensure Benefits To Tribal Stakeholders In Bastar

Raipur: In a major step towards ensuring that the benefits of natural resources reach the communities associated with their collection, the Chhattisgarh government has launched the TIN (Tribal Incentives on Natural Resources) Portal, a pioneering digital platform designed to bring greater transparency, efficiency and fairness to the procurement and sale of tin ore collected by tribal communities in Bastar division in the state.

Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai launched the portal, developed by the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Limited (CMDC) in collaboration with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), on Monday.

The initiative reflects the state government’s emphasis on sustainable and inclusive mineral development and its commitment to strengthening the economic self-reliance of tribal communities, a spokesman of the Chhattisgarh government said on Tuesday.

The TN Portal digitally integrates the entire tin ore value chain, from beneficiary registration and collection to procurement, transportation, sale, price determination and final payment.

It brings together digital beneficiary registration, QR-based verification, smart cards, and digital identities, online stock management, automated payment calculation, banking integration, reporting, transaction tracking, audit trails, real-time monitoring, and SMS alerts.

For tribal collectors, this means a more transparent, technology-enabled and time-bound procurement process, with timely information on transactions and payments and less dependent on manual communication.

For CMDC and the government, the portal provides real-time visibility into procurement, stock, revenue and payment operations, while connecting the headquarters, regional offices, and procurement Centres for effective monitoring across the entire value chain.

One of the most significant reforms introduced through the TIN Portal is the adoption of a London Metal Exchange (LME)- based pricing mechanism for tin ore.

As tin is an internationally traded mineral, its value is closely linked to prevailing global market prices.

By linking price determination to the LME, the new system aims to make the valuation of tin ore more transparent, objective, and responsive to market conditions.

This is expected to provide greater clarity to tribal collectors on how the value of their produce is determined and strengthen confidence in the procurement system, the spokesman said.

The CMDC currently procures tin ore from tribal beneficiaries through six procurement Centres across Bastar division.

It proposes to establish three more collection and procurement Centres in Bastar.

Tin collection has been an important source of livelihood for tribal communities in southern Bastar for several years.