India Plans Major Overhaul Of Mining Regulations With New Law Proposed To Replace Nearly Seven-Decade-Old MMDR Act: Report

The government is reportedly exploring plans to replace the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, with a comprehensive new mining law incorporating reforms to improve ease of living and ease of doing business.

An inter-ministerial committee chaired by the additional secretary in the mines ministry will prepare the draft legislation.

The move would mark a departure from the approach of introducing periodic amendments to the nearly seven-decade-old law.

The Mines Ministry oversees the MMDR Act, under which state governments grant mineral concessions, including prospecting licences and mining leases, while the Centre determines royalty rates payable by lessees to states.

Although the legislation has undergone several amendments to address changing requirements, mining’s growing role in economic development and technological advancement has prompted the government to consider replacing the existing framework with an entirely new law rather than introducing further amendments.

The panel will review the existing MMDR Act, 1957 in its entirety, examine international best practices, and incorporate them in the new bill.

The initiative comes as India focuses on its vision for a developed economy by 2047, with the mining sector playing a central role in the country’s energy transition and securing critical minerals such as lithium and rare earth elements essential for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies.

The proposed law will need to balance the powers of state administrations, which hold rights to grant mining leases, with central government control over auction rules and royalty structures.

This move follows the recent passage of the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, in August, which established a uniform fiscal framework by restricting states from levying fresh taxes on mineral rights except within conditions prescribed by the Centre.

The new comprehensive law represents a more fundamental restructuring of India’s mining regulatory landscape.

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