Latest news with #DevelopmentandRegulation)AmendmentBill
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
LS passes Mines and Ports bills amid protest over SIR in Bihar
NEW DELHI: Amid the chair naming deputy leader of opposition Gaurav Gogoi for "instigating" opposition MPs to protest, Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, and the Indian Ports Bill, 2025, following brief speeches by the ruling camp amid din of protests against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The proceedings were marred by vociferous sloganeering in the well of the House, which resulted in LS being adjourned once in the afternoon, after it had failed to conduct listed business in the morning. After the passage of the two bills, Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, named Gogoi for provoking the MPs to rush to the well and to tear up papers and fling them towards the chair.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Lok Sabha papers thrown at Chair amid heated protests; Jagdambika Pal reproves
Amidst persistent Opposition protests concerning the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Lok Sabha passed the Indian Ports Bill and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill. The House faced repeated disruptions and adjournments due to the uproar. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Lok Sabha passed two bills and referred one to a select committee amid continued protests and sloganeering by the Opposition over the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in House witnessed repeated adjournments as the Opposition demanded a discussion on SIR. In the post-lunch session, minister Sarbananda Sonowal moved the Indian Ports Bill for consideration and passing. It was passed by a voice vote within 25 minutes. The House was adjourned for an hour till 4.30 pm. Minister G Kishan Reddy moved the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Opposition members continued their protests despite repeated appeals by Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding over the House. The Opposition threw some papers while protesting and the Chair took a grim view of the conduct. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said, "How can you throw papers at the chair?... You should be ashamed." Pal observed that Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha had been "instigating" people to enter the well and throw papers. While not naming anyone, he said the conduct was not appropriate.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Lok Sabha passes bill to increase production, processing of critical minerals
Lok Sabha passes bill to increase production, processing of critical minerals Lok Sabha passes bill to increase production, processing of critical minerals 1 2 NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill which seeks to provide a simpler regime for promoting conservation of minerals, zero waste mining and support the objectives of the National Critical Mineral Mission, given the significance of critical and strategic minerals in the development of the country. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, was passed after brief debate, with Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy stating that every sector is dependent on critical minerals. The significance of critical and strategic minerals in the development of the country is continuously increasing and recent global geo-political developments has constricted the supply-chains of these minerals. The Centre launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025 to establish a robust framework for self-reliance in the critical mineral sector. Under this mission, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been tasked with conducting 1,200 exploration projects from 2024-25 to 2030-31. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill was passed amid sloganeering by opposition members over their demand for debate on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. In his reply to the debate on the bill, G Kishan Reddy said that India has less production of critical minerals and is largely dependent on imports. The bill seeks to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and also seeks to promote extraction of deep-seated minerals. The minister said efforts have been stepped up since 2015 to boost the availability of critical minerals in the country. "We are moving in the right direction," he said. He emphasised that everyone should understand the value of critical minerals, as every sector, "from electricity and medical equipment to automobiles, defence, solar, and space, is heavily dependent on them". Kishan Reddy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visits abroad, seeks to expand cooperation in critical minerals. He also attacked opposition parties over disruption in the House, saying they "do not have faith on the Supreme Court, Election Commission". The minister said the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, is an important bill for the mining sector. "Mining sector will be an important pillar and will have a big role in India's journey to Viksit Bhart by 2047," he said. In his brief remarks while moving the bills for passing, Kishan Reddy said critical minerals is the need of the hour and sought unanimous support for the legislation. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 has been amended several times over the years. The last amendment made in the Act in 2023 focused on increasing exploration and production of critical and strategic minerals in the country by introducing a new list of 24 critical and strategic minerals; empowering the Central Government to auction mineral concessions in respect of such minerals and introduction of exploration licence for critical and deep-seated minerals. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, there is need to provide a dynamic market mechanism for minerals backed by a robust regulatory regime with the increased availability and demand of minerals in the country. "Setting up of mineral exchanges will help miners and end-users of minerals in determining fair and transparent market prices based on supply and demand dynamics, stabilise markets and aid in budgeting and planning. This will promote investment in mining sector and infrastructure related to transport and storage," the statement said. The bill seeks to remove the limit on the sale of minerals from the captive mines so that miners can sell minerals after meeting the requirements of the end-use plant linked with the mine and on payment of an additional amount specified in the Act. It seeks to allow the sale of dumps which have been stacked up to such date as may be specified by the Central Government in captive leases which cannot be captively utilised to reduce environmental hazards and increase safety in mine workings, bring more minerals to the market and provide additional revenue to the States. India is mostly dependent on the import of critical minerals. A National Critical Mineral Mission has been launched to increase domestic production, including from the offshore areas of India, secure supply chains from outside India and promote processing of critical minerals. "There is an urgent need to further amend the Act to support the National Critical Mineral Mission in its objectives," the statement said. The bill seeks to empower the Central Government to promote the development of the market, including trading, of minerals, their concentrates or their processed forms (including metals) through mineral exchanges. It seeks to widen the scope and territorial domain of the National Mineral Exploration Trust to enable the 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. The bill seeks to enable one-time extension of the area under a mining lease or composite licence to include therein a contiguous area not exceeding ten per cent. or thirty per cent., 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 Central Government. "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," the statement said. The bill seeks to rename the Trust 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 two per cent. of the royalty payable to three per cent. of the royalty payable; It seeks to enable the inclusion of any new mineral in a mining lease, subject to the conditions prescribed by the Central Government and the additional amount payable as specified in the proposed Eighth Schedule to the Act. No additional amount is applicable on inclusion of critical and strategic mineral or minerals specified in the Seventh Schedule to the Act to incentivise production of these minerals which are found in small quantity and are difficult to mine and process.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
MMDR Bill proposes mine expansion, relief on critical mineral charges
Bill allows easier lease expansion for deep-seated minerals, waives charges for critical minerals, removes captive sale cap, and sets up mineral exchanges to boost mining output Saket Kumar Sudheer Pal Singh New Delhi Listen to This Article The Union government on Monday introduced the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, with provisions aimed at boosting domestic mining output. Key changes include easier expansion into contiguous areas for deep-seated minerals and exemption from additional charges for critical and strategic minerals when found within an existing lease. Under the proposed amendments, holders of mining leases for deep-seated minerals will be allowed a one-time expansion of their lease area by up to 10 per cent to cover contiguous zones that would otherwise be uneconomical to mine separately. For composite licence holders, this limit
