News: The Lok Sabha has passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025.
About Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025
- This Bill seeks to further liberalize, modernize, and make more dynamic India’s mineral sector, particularly with a focus on critical and strategic minerals.
- It introduces several reforms to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act, 1957), aligning the legal framework with current economic and technological realities.
Key Amendments
- Inclusion of other minerals in a mining lease: Under the Act, a mining lease is granted for a specific mineral.
- The Bill provides that lease holders may apply to the state government for adding other minerals to an existing lease.
- For inclusion of critical and strategic minerals, and other specified minerals, no additional amount needs to be paid.
- These include minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, gold, and silver.
- For inclusion of a minor mineral, the state government may decide the royalty and other payments.
- Minor minerals include building stones, gravel, sand, and other minerals declared as minor minerals by the central government.
- For inclusion of major minerals to minor mineral leases, the central government will prescribe conditions through Rules.
- An atomic mineral above a specified grade cannot be included in a mining lease granted for non-atomic minerals.
- Removal of limit on sale for captive mines: Under the Act, captive mines are allowed to sell up to 50% of minerals produced in a year, after meeting end-use requirements.
- The Bill removes the limit on sale of minerals.
- The Bill also empowers state governments to allow sale of mineral dumps stacked in the leased area.
- The Bill provides that lease holders may apply to the state government for adding other minerals to an existing lease.
- Expanded scope of National Mineral Exploration Trust: The Bill widens the scope of the National Mineral Exploration Trust (established under the Act) to also fund development of mines and minerals.
- The Bill also renames the Trust as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust.
- The Bill increases the rate of contribution into the Trust to 3% of the royalty from 2% earlier in the Act.
- Inclusion of contiguous area in mining lease for deep-seated minerals: The Bill allows for a one-time extension of the area under a mining or composite lease.
- This will be applicable for deep-seated minerals.
- Deep-seated minerals are minerals which occur at a depth of more than 200 m from the surface of land.
- This will be applicable for deep-seated minerals.
- Mineral exchanges: The Bill provides for establishing an authority to register and regulate mineral exchanges.
- Definition: The Bill defines mineral exchange as a registered electronic trading platform or marketplace for trading minerals and metals.
- The central government will frame Rules regarding mineral exchanges.
