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India's corruption crackdown is great news for one of its most important sectors

India's recent push to stamp out corruption has been laudable -- especially in the country's all-important mining sector.

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And news this week suggests the clean-up effort is intensifying, once again signaling major changes underway in the minerals sector here.

India's key mining state Rajasthan said late Saturday it is taking unprecedented action against its corrupt mining agency; by cancelling the majority of minerals licenses issued by this authority.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally in Banka, Bihar October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally in Banka Thomson Reuters

The state government said it will nullify 601 out of 653 licenses issued by the mining agency. Representing a full 90 percent of the tenements granted in recent years.

That comes after the agency's Secretary, Ashok Singhvi, was arrested last month following an undercover investigation, which found that he and his aides accepted bribes in return for expediting and prioritizing mining applications.

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The move by the state government is a strong one: stripping assets from some of the most powerful business people in India, some of which have been held for years already.

But the government seems intent on sending a message. An escalation from past policy -- where "anti-corruption" drives were often just wallpaper intended to give the impression of good governance but not effectively changing much.

Read the original article on OilPrice.com. Copyright 2015.
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