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Lok Sabha passes Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill
The Lok Sabha passed amendments to enhance the National Mineral Exploration Trust's scope for mining critical minerals, increasing funding and operational efficiency.
The Lok Sabha passed the key amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act on Tuesday.
The amendments make way for widening the scope and territorial domain of the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) to enable use of the funds accrued to the Trust within India, including the offshore areas, and outside India for the purposes of exploration and development of mines and minerals, ministry officials said.
HT had reported on July 18, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, which is expected to be tabled during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament will help fast-track mining of critical minerals and operationalise the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).
The bill renames the NMET as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust to reflect its enlarged scope and increase the amount of payment to the Trust by the lessees from present 2% of the royalty payable to 3%.
It enables the inclusion of any new mineral in a mining lease subject to the conditions prescribed by the Central Government. Further it also enables a one-time extension of the area under a mining lease or composite licence to include therein a contiguous area not exceeding 10% or 30% respectively, of the existing area under the lease or licence subject to such terms and conditions and additional payment as may be prescribed in rules by the Centre. “This will promote optimal mining of deep-seated minerals which are locked up in contiguous areas and may not be economically viable to be extracted under a separate lease or licence,” officials said.
“The mining sector is a key driver of the nation’s progress, with critical minerals playing an essential role in renewable energy, electric mobility, and cutting-edge technologies. However, India’s domestic production of these critical minerals is limited, leaving us heavily dependent on imports,” said G Kishan Reddy, Union minister of coal and mines.
“From solar panels to wind turbines, agriculture to medical equipment, electronics to electricity, cell phones to aircraft, and defence to sports, critical minerals play a significant role across every sector,” he added.
