Lok Sabha Clears Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill to Boost Critical Mineral Production, Support National Mission
The Lok Sabha has approved the Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Bill, 2025, aiming to simplify mining, increase domestic critical mineral output, promote NCMM, and strengthen India’s supply chain security.
August 15, 2025. By EI News Network
Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, while piloting the bill, said that every sector from electricity and medical equipment to automobiles, defence, solar, and space, depends heavily on such minerals. He acknowledged India’s low domestic production and heavy reliance on imports but said efforts to boost output have accelerated since 2015. “We are moving in the right direction,” he told the House, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for global partnerships in the sector.
As per reports, the bill, passed after a brief debate despite opposition protests over unrelated matters, seeks to amend the 1957 Act to promote extraction of deep-seated minerals, establish mineral exchanges for transparent pricing, and encourage investment in mining infrastructure. It also removes limits on the sale of minerals from captive mines and allows sale of unused mineral dumps, aiming to improve safety, reduce environmental hazards, and increase state revenues.
Under the NCMM, launched in 2025, the Geological Survey of India will carry out 1,200 exploration projects between 2024–25 and 2030–31. The bill also renames the National Mineral Exploration Trust as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust, expands its mandate to offshore and overseas exploration, and raises the lessee payment rate from 2 percent to 3 percent of royalty.
Provisions allow a one-time expansion of mining leases by up to 10 percent and composite licences by up to 30 percent for contiguous areas, as well as the inclusion of new minerals in existing leases. Critical and strategic minerals listed in the Act will be exempt from additional charges to incentivise their production despite small deposits and extraction challenges.
According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the amendments aim to create a dynamic, regulated market mechanism to meet rising mineral demand and secure domestic supply chains.
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