Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill with Rajya Sabha approving it today. Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill. The Bill will encourage the private sector in the exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals.
The Bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 which regulates the mining sector. One of the major reforms proposed in the Bill is to introduce exploration licences for deep-seated and critical minerals. Deep-seated minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, cobalt, and platinum group of minerals, diamonds are difficult and expensive to explore.
The proposed exploration licence would facilitate, encourage and incentivize private sector participation in all spheres of mineral exploration for critical and deep-seated minerals. The Bill also has provisions to remove six minerals from the list of 12 atomic mineral list. These minerals have various applications in the space industry, electronics, communications, energy sector, and electric batteries and are critical in the net-zero emission commitment of India. Due to their inclusion in the list of atomic minerals, their mining and exploration are reserved for government entities. Upon removal of these minerals from the list, exploration and mining of these minerals will be opened up for the private sector as well. The Bill also empowers the Central Government to exclusively auction mining leases and composite licences for certain critical minerals.
Replying to a brief discussion over the Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi described the Bill as a game changer for the mining sector. He said, it was necessary because the country relies on imports of various precious and critical minerals including lithium and cobalt. He said, to become the third largest economy in the world, India needs exploration of these minerals. Mr. Joshi said, this Bill will bring more transparency in the mining sector. He criticised the previous UPA government policies for irregularities in the mining sector.
Initiating the discussion, Sasmit Patra of BJD supported the Bill saying that it is crucial for the mining sector. He said the removal of six minerals from the list of 12 atomic minerals list, will allow a significant increase in the exploration of these minerals. Deepak Prakash of the BJP criticised the UPA government for irregularities in the mining sector in their regime. He said, this will revolutionize the mining sector. Ayodhya Rami Reddy of YSR Congress, Dr. M Thambidurai of AIADMK, Aditya Prasad of BJP and others also spoke on the Bill.
