2 weeks ago
Parliament Passes Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill 2026
The government of India made a new rule to help find and use minerals.
Minerals are things like gold, silver, and lithium that we dig out of the ground.
These minerals are used to make batteries, phones, and other important things.
The new rule is called the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill 2026.
It lets people who already dig for minerals also dig for other minerals at the same place.
If they add important minerals like lithium or gold, they do not have to pay extra money.
For other minerals, they usually have to pay a fee like the royalty.
The rule also lets mines that were only for one company sell more of what they dig.
A special trust that pays for exploring minerals will now also pay for building mines.
It will be given a new name: the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust.
Parliament approved the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Thursday, a day after the Lok Sabha cleared it.
Mining lease holders can now seek state government approval to add other minerals, including critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, gold and silver, to existing leases.
No additional payment is required for adding critical and strategic minerals, while other minerals will generally require an amount equivalent to the applicable royalty, plus any auction premium for auctioned mines.
The existing 50% ceiling on sales from captive mines has been removed, giving operators greater freedom to commercialise their mineral output.
The National Mineral Exploration Trust will be renamed the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust and expanded to fund mineral and mine development, and an authority will regulate mineral exchanges.
- Who
- The Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), with the Bill taking effect after the President's assent.
- What
- The passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which changes rules on mining leases, critical minerals and captive mines.
- Where
- India, in Parliament.
- When
- The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on Thursday, a day after its clearance by the Lok Sabha.
- Why
- To promote mineral exploration and development, particularly for critical and strategic minerals.
Key facts
- Bill
- Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026
- Parent legislation
- Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957
- Approval bodies
- Rajya Sabha (Thursday) and Lok Sabha (previous day)
- Effective after
- The President's assent
- Critical minerals exempt from additional payment
- Lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver
- Captive mine sales
- Existing 50% ceiling removed
- Deep-seated mineral lease expansion
- Up to 30% for composite licences, 10% for mining leases
- Trust rename
- National Mineral Exploration Trust to National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust
Sources
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