Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Bill, 2021

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill has passed by Parliament after Rajya Sabha through voice amid opposition's demand to send it to a select committee for scrutiny. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill earlier on March 19th.

Objectives of the bill

• The bill passed by a voice vote (vote given on a topic by responding orally), is aimed at bringing more transparency in the auction processes of the mines.
• The major objective of the amendment is to generate employment in the mining sector and enhance the contribution of the mining sector in the total GDP of the country.
• The government, through this amendment, is making an effort to attract domestic as well as foreign investment in the mining sector plus involvement of safe and effective technology in the sector.
• The objective is to enhance the contribution of the mining sector in the GDP to up to at least 2.75% which at present is around 1.75%.

Key provisions of the Bill

1. The Act empowered the central government to reserve any mine (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) for particular end-use. Such mines are known as captive mines.
2. The Bill removes the distinction between captive and non-captive mines. It will not reserve any mine for particular end-use. All mines will now be able to sell their extra minerals.
3. The Bill provides that captive mines (other than atomic minerals) may sell up to 50% of their annual mineral production in the open market after meeting their own needs.
4. The bill provides for the constitution of a Statutory body named the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET). It will see the functioning of the mining sector.
5. The bill proposes to introduce an index-based mechanism by developing a National Mineral Index(NMI). It will be used for various statutory payments and for future auctions.
6. Presently, upon expiry of mining lease and transfer of the lease to a new lessee, the statutory clearances issued to the previous lessee are transferred for a period of two years. The new lessee needs to obtain fresh clearances within the two years. The Bill changes this provision. It makes the transferred statutory clearances valid throughout the lease period of the new lessee.
7. The bill allows the participation of private players in mining operations with enhanced technology.
8. The Bill provides that if the State Government is not able to complete the auction process within a specified time, the Central Government may take over and conduct such an auction.
9. The Bill says that mines (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) whose lease has expired, may be allocated to a government company in certain cases.