The  India  -   Australia   Joint Working Group (JWG) on Energy and Minerals was established in the year 2000 for enhancing bilateral co-operation in the energy and mineral sectors.  Six meetings of the JWG have so far been held. Under the Joint Working Group, both countries  have signed Action Plans in November,  2008 in  the coal, mines, petroleum, new and renewable energy and power  sectors envisaging a number of activities and events for implementation.  The Action Plans have been signed with a view to maintain momentum in the Australia-India bilateral energy and resources relationship. 

The sixth meeting of the Australia-India Joint Working Group on Energy and Minerals was held on 16-17 March, 2009 at New Delhi .  Ministry of Mines is the nodal Ministry from the Indian side for this Working Group.  A Protocol was signed at the end of the meeting.  The Joint Working Group endorsed the activities under the five Action Plans in the workshops held on Mining and Minerals, New and Renewable Energy, Power, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Coal sectors.

As a follow-up to the Work Plan signed between the two countries in the Mining Sector, Workshops were held in Kolkata and Nagpur during November-December, 2009 in which experts from Australia made presentation on the updated technologies in the mining sector to the Indian geoscientists.

Under the Indo-Australian Joint Working Group on Energy and Minerals,  India-Australia Technical and Policy exchange programme on “Mining and Minerals Exploration – Capacity Building in India ” was held at Nagpur during 3-4 December, 2009. This was the second Workshop being organized by the Australian Agency for Capacity Building in India . The Workshop was jointly inaugurated by Shri C.S. Gundewar, Controller General, IBM and Dr. Barnicoat from Australia . Fifteen Officers from IBM apart from GSI, MECL, SAIL& MOIL participated in the Workshop.

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