{"id":7066611,"date":"2026-09-25T12:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/a-review-of-mmdr-amendment-bill-2021-lex-jura-law\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T12:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:07:17","slug":"a-review-of-mmdr-amendment-bill-2021-lex-jura-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7066611","title":{"rendered":"A Review of MMDR Amendment Bill, 2021 \u2013 Lex Jura Law"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Sanchit Sharma <\/p>\n

(Research Associate at Lex Jura Law and student at HPNLU)<\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. Introduction<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Ministry of Mines Strategy Paper \u2018Unlocking the Potential of the Indian Mineral Sector\u2019, published in 2011, highlighted India\u2019s low position in the global mining sector, trenchantly pointing towards a relatively small exploration budget, and lack of global investments in this arena.[1]<\/sup><\/a> Further, in terms of consumption, and as a nation, our mining sector only contributes \u00a01.75% to the country\u2019s gross domestic product, with importing minerals worth \u20b92.5 trillion annually.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Notwithstanding this, the fact that India is an affluent source of minerals is not obscure to us.[3]<\/sup><\/a> Our nation is, quite literally, seated on a gargantuan pile of resources, waiting to be explored and utilized; this is evident from the fact that of India\u2019s obvious geological potential area of 0.571 million sq. km, only 10% has been explored.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    Having said that, one might be tempted to ask, \u2018Why, as a nation, are we not advancing in this sector?<\/em>\u2019 Plainly, the answer could not be attributed and singled out as a solitary factor; but, prima facie<\/em>, the bone of contention always revolves around legislation passed by the legislature, and regulations notified by the executive. Interestingly, one such policy is out for our discussion. On March 22, the Parliament cleared the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021<\/em>[5]<\/sup><\/a> [Bill]. The new amendments are aimed at bringing reforms to the untapped mining industry, and in effect, boosting the economic activities in our country. The following article shall conduct a scrutiny of this bill, bringing forth both negative and positive factors.<\/p>\n

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    1. Background of the Legislation\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act <\/em>is a central legislation thatwas enacted in 1957, to regulate mineral mining in our country, and at a time when the public sector occupied the commanding heights of the economy, It is the primary legislative instrument, along with Mining rules, which have governed the operation and functioning of the entire mining industry in India for six decades. Owing to this essential position, it has gone through several rounds of amendments over the years; they range from the inclusion of the private sector in mining and inclusion of Foreign Direct Investment in exploration of minerals, and in more recent years, ease of doing business, with the inclusion of auctioning of mines. The legislation, therefore, holds a position of prominence, and needs constant revisions, whenever need be. Keeping this in mind, new amendments have been introduced by the center, which not only promise 5.5 million jobs and state-of-the-art technology[6]<\/sup><\/a>, but also act in the tranche of the \u20b920 trillion stimulus packages to mitigate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.[7]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

      All considered, on the outset, the amendments may have the potential for boosting the economy, but the measures proposed and results expected wouldn\u2019t, unfortunately, yield the same desired result.<\/p>\n

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      1. Expectation v. Reality: The Conundrum<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n