The Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) on August 18, 2026, proposed the National Risk, Compliance and Overall Mine Safety Rating Framework.
The following has been stated:
• It has placed a Committee report on the proposed National Risk Rating Index (NRRI), National Compliance Rating Index (NCRI) and Overall Mine Safety Rating (OMSR) in the public domain for stakeholder comments and suggestions. The proposed framework aims to establish a scientific, transparent and data-driven system for assessing the inherent risk, regulatory compliance and overall safety performance of mines across India, thereby enabling DGMS to prioritize inspections, allocate regulatory resources and promote proactive risk management and self-regulation.
• The framework proposes categorization of mines into coal, metalliferous and oil mines, with further sub-categorization based on factors such as production, mining method and operational scale. The NRRI would assess inherent and residual risks based on geological/geotechnical conditions, operational risks, supervision, human and management factors, emergency preparedness and accident history, while the NCRI would measure compliance with applicable safety laws, safety management systems, post-accident actions, worker training and participation, and use of safety technologies. Based on normalized scores, mines would be classified into different risk and compliance categories, with higher-risk or poorly compliant mines subject to enhanced monitoring and corrective measures. The two indices would then be combined to determine the OMSR on a 0–100 scale, ranging from Excellent to Very Poor, providing an overall assessment of mine safety performance.
• The proposed system also envisages mandatory digital self-submission of NRRI and NCRI information by all mines, online and physical verification, periodic audits and development of a centralized software platform capable of automated risk assessment, data validation and AI-based identification of abnormal trends and inspection priorities. The OMSR may also be integrated with the Shram Suvidha Portal and used for risk-based randomized inspections, with higher-rated mines potentially receiving reduced inspection frequency and poorly rated mines facing enhanced inspections.
• DGMS has invited specific, evidence-based, and constructive comments and suggestions from stakeholders by September 2, 2026.
