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BJP Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash, a member of the Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel, on Wednesday said the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, will help India achieve its national critical minerals mission.
On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha passed the 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. "This Bill will play a key role in making India a strong and developed nation. This Bill will help India achieve its national critical minerals mission," Prakash told ANI. He noted that India is currently spending heavily on importing large volumes of critical minerals. "Today we are importing huge volumes of the critical minerals, shelling out our money. There is a huge need for critical minerals across the world. To ensure that India does not miss the bus, we are amending the legislation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he added, speaking in Hindi. "The states where the minerals are available will also gain in terms of revenue, and the people will get employment opportunities." The new legislation now allows private players and foreign direct investment (FDI) to participate in the exploration and development of critical minerals. "Past governments had decided under MMRD Act that no critical minerals would be allowed to be explored or used by private players," Prakash said, in a way, calling the earlier restrictions a bottleneck in India's mineral development. The new Bill also includes provisions for offshore mineral exploration and allows for the critical mineral projects in foreign territories. On Tuesday, the Bill was passed in Lok Sabha after a 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 geopolitical 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. (ANI)
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