Ministry of Mines (India)

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Republic of India
Ministry of Mines
Government of India logo.svg
Branch of Government of India
Ministry of Mines India.svg
Ministry of Mines
Shri Pralhad Joshi Minister of Coal.jpg
Agency overview
Jurisdiction Government of India
Headquarters Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi
Annual budget1,669.52 crore (US$210 million) (2018-19 est.) [1]
Agency executive
Website mines.gov.in

The Ministry of Mines is the ministry in the Government of India. The ministry functions as the primary body for the formulation and administration of laws relating to mines in India. The head of the ministry is Pralhad Joshi, who has been serving since June 2019. [2]

Contents

Functions

The Ministry of Mines is responsible for surveying and exploring for minerals (other than natural gas and petroleum) that are used in mining and metallurgy. It searches for non-ferrous metals including: aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, gold, nickel, etc. for administration of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) in respect of all mines and minerals other than coal and lignite. There is one attached office, one subordinate office, three public sector undertakings (PSUs), three autonomous bodies, and additional agencies working under the support of the Ministry of Mines.

Attached office

Subordinate office

Public sector undertakings

Autonomous bodies

Registered society (autonomous & self funding)

The subject of ‘mineral regulation and development’ occurs at Serial Number 23 of the State list in the VIIth schedule to the Constitution. However the Constitution circumscribes this power, by giving Parliament the power under S.No. 54 of the Union list in the VIIth schedule, to enact legislation, and to this extent the States will be bound by the Central legislation. The MMDR Act is the main Central legislation in force for the sector. The Act was enacted when the Industrial Policy Resolution, 1957 was the guiding policy for the sector, and thus was aimed primarily at providing a mineral concession regime in the context of the metal making public sector undertakings. After the liberalization in 1991, a separate National Mineral Policy (NMP) was promulgated in 1993 which set out the role of the private sector in exploration and mining and the MMDR Act was amended several times to provide for a reasonable concession regime to attract the private sector investment including FDI, into exploration and mining in accordance with NMP 1993.

National Mineral Policy

The first National Mineral Policy was enunciated by the Government in 1993 for liberalization of the mining sector. The National Mineral Policy, 1993 aimed at encouraging the flow of private investment and introduction of state-of-the-art technology in exploration and mining.

In the Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, it was observed that the main factors responsible for this were procedural delays in the processing of applications for mineral concessions and the absence of adequate infrastructure in the mining areas. To go into the whole gamut of issues relating to the development of the mineral sector and suggest measures for improving the investment climate the Mid-Term Appraisal had proposed the establishment of a High Level Committee. Accordingly, the Government of India, Planning Commission, constituted a Committee on 14 September 2005. under the Chairmanship of Shri Anwarul Hoda, member, Planning Commission. The Committee made detailed recommendations on all of its terms of Reference in December 2006. Based on the recommendations of the High Level Committee, in consultation with State Governments, the Government replaced the National Mineral Policy, 1993 with a new National Mineral Policy on 13 March 2008.

The National Mineral Policy 2008 provides for a change in the role of the Central Government and the State Governments to incentivize private sector investment in exploration and mining and for ensuring level playing field and transparency in the grant of concessions and promotion of scientific mining within a sustainable development framework so as to protect the interest of local population in mining areas. This has necessitated harmonization of legislation with the new National Mineral Policy.

Policy reforms

The Hoda Committee studied the various reports prepared and submitted by study groups and in- house committees set up by various Ministries from time to time on the issues before the Committee. The Committee gave consideration to the mineral policies of the States as presented by the State Governments, especially to the differing perceptions of mineral-rich and non mineral-rich states. The Committee also gave consideration to the papers prepared by FIMI, which provided comparative analyses of the mineral policies and statutes of other major mineral producing countries in the world such as Australia, Canada, Chile, and South Africa.

Legislation

The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 was enacted so as to provide for the regulation of mines and development of minerals under the control of the Union. The Act has been amended in 1972, 1986, 1994, 1999 and 2004 in keeping with changes in the policy on mineral development. It has been recently amended in 2016 to make fundamental changes.

Legislative reform

Since that the existing law had already been amended several times and as further amendments may not clearly reflect the objects and reasons emanating from the new Mineral Policy, Government decided to reformulate the legislative framework in the light of the National Mineral Policy, 2008 and consequently, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill was drafted in 2009-10 by the then Secretary Mines, S. Vijay Kumar, [7] [8] in consultation with the stakeholders. Government then constituted a Group of Ministers, chaired by the Minister of Finance (comprising Ministers of Home, Environment & Forest, Mines, Steel, Coal, Tribal Affairs, Law etc.) which harmonized the views of the Ministries and the final draft as approved by the Cabinet in September 2011, was introduced in Parliament in November 2011.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, inter alia, provides for the following, namely

A notable feature of the Bill is to provide a simple mechanism which ensures that revenues from mining are shared with local communities at individual as well as community level so as to empower them, provide them with choices, enable them to create and maintain local infrastructure and better utilize infrastructure and other services provided for their benefit. The Bill after introduction in Parliament in November 2011, was referred to the Department–related Parliamentary Standing Committee ("Standing Committee" ) which after eliciting the views of all stakeholders, submitted its Report.

Elections in 2014, however led to the Bill lapsing, and the new NDA Government used its majority to effect amendments in the MMDR Act. The most important amendment has been to make auctions the only way to get mineral concessions at prospecting and mining stages. Some auctions have been held, but the industry view seems to be that auctions are likely to lead to delays and supply interruptions, and that the auction is adding to the burden of taxes on mining. Auctions at mining lease stage are also disincentivising exploration by private sector. [9]

Mining within a sustainable development framework

The Hoda Committee made important recommendations on the need for a Sustainable Development Framework (SDF), as follows:

""The Ministry of Mines and MOEF should jointly set up a working group to prepare a SDF specially tailored to the context of India’s mining environment, taking fully into account the work done and being done in ICMM and the IUCN. The Indian SDF comprising of principles, reporting initiatives, and good practice guidelines unique to the three sectors in Indian mining, i.e. SME, captive, and large stand alone, can then be made applicable to mining operations in India and a separate structure set up to ensure adherence to such framework, drawing from both IBM and the field formations of MOEF. • The aspect of social infrastructure in the form of schools, hospitals, drinking water arrangements, etc. needs to be addressed within a formalised framework on the lines of the ICMM model. The Samatha ruling requiring mining companies to spend a set percentage of their profits on model programmes for meeting local needs through a pre-determined commitment, is one option for the country as a whole. Another option could be to require the mining companies to spend a percentage, say three per cent, of their turnover on the social infrastructure in the villages around the mining area. The working group mentioned in paragraph 3.11 may take this into consideration when preparing the Indian SDF and determine the percentage that mining companies could be advised to set aside. "

Based on these recommendations, the National Mineral Policy 2008 explicitly underlined the need for mining within a sustainable development framework. The National Mineral Policy 2008 states, ( para numbers in brackets are the para numbers in the Policy): " (2.3) A framework of sustainable development will be designed which takes care of biodiversity issues and to ensure that mining activity takes place along with suitable measures for restoration of the ecological balance..."

In para 7.10 it states" Extraction of minerals closely impacts other natural resources like land, water, air and forest. The areas in which minerals occur often have other resources presenting a choice of utilisation of the resources. Some such areas are ecologically fragile and some are biologically rich. It is necessary to take a comprehensive view to facilitate the choice or order of land use keeping in view the needs of development as well as the needs of protecting the forests, environment and ecology... All mining shall be undertaken within the parameters of a comprehensive Sustainable Development Framework... Mining operations shall not ordinarily be taken up in identified ecologically fragile areas and biologically rich areas.

Para 7.11 states that "Appropriate compensation will form an important aspect of the Sustainable Development Framework mentioned in para 2.3 and 7.10…"

Para 7.12 states that: "Once the process of economical extraction of a mine is complete there is need for scientific mine closure which will not only restore ecology and regenerate biomass but also take into account the socio-economic aspects of such closure..."

And not least, para 3.2 of the Policy states that "The Central Govt in consultation with the State Govts shall formulate the legal measures for giving effect to the NMP 2008..The MMDR Act, MCR and MCDR will be amended in line with the policy…"

In line with the Hoda Committee recommendations, the Ministry of Mines commissioned ERM which prepared a Sustainable Development Framework Report in November 2011.

List of ministers

NoPortraitNameTerm of officePartyPrime Minister
1 Narhar Vishnu Gadgil 1985 stamp of India (cropped).jpg N. V. Gadgil 15 August 194726 December 1950 Indian National Congress Jawaharlal Nehru
2 Sardar Swaran Singh.jpg Swaran Singh 17 April 195710 April 1962
3 Keshav Dev Malviya 25 April 195726 June 1963
(2) Sardar Swaran Singh.jpg Swaran Singh 26 June 196319 July 1963
4 Chidambaram Subramaniam 2010 stamp of India (cropped).jpg C Subramaniam 21 November 19639 June 1964 Jawaharlal Nehru
Gulzari Lal Nanda
5 NeelamSanjeevaReddy.jpg N. Sanjeeva Reddy 9 June 196424 January 1966 Lal Bahadur Shastri
6 Tribhuvan Narain Singh 17 January 196713 March 1969 Indira Gandhi
7 DrMChannaReddy (cropped).jpg M. Chenna Reddy 16 March 196727 April 1968
8 Prakash Chandra Sethi
(MoS)
27 April 196814 February 1969
9 Triguna Sen 2010 stamp of India.jpg Triguna Sen 14 February 196918 March 1971
10 Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam 2 May 197131 May 1973
11 Indira Gandhi 1974 (cropped).jpg Indira Gandhi 6 June 197323 July 1973
12 T. A. Pai 23 July 197311 January 1974
(3) Keshav Dev Malviya 11 January 197410 October 1974
13 Chandrajit Yadav
(MoS)
10 October 197424 March 1977
14 Biju-Patnaik.jpg Biju Patnaik 26 March 197715 July 1979 Janata Party Morarji Desai
30 July 197914 January 1980 Janata Party (Secular) Charan Singh
15 Secretary Tim Geithner and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee 2010 crop.jpg Pranab Mukherjee 16 January 198015 January 1982 Indian National Congress Indira Gandhi
16 Shri Narayan Dutt Tiwari.jpg N. D. Tiwari 15 January 198214 February 1983
17 N. K. P. Salve
(Independent Charge)
14 February 198331 December 1984 Indira Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
18 Vasant Sathe 31 December 198425 September 1985 Rajiv Gandhi
19 Shri K.C Pant (cropped).jpg K. C. Pant 25 September 198512 April 1987
(18) Vasant Sathe 12 April 198725 July 1987
20 M. L. Fotedar 25 July 19872 December 1989
21 Dinesh Goswami 6 December 198910 November 1989 Asom Gana Parishad V. P. Singh
22 Ashokesen1.JPG Ashoke Kumar Sen 21 November 199021 June 1991 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar
23 Balram Singh Yadav
(Independent Charge)
21 June 199115 September 1995 Indian National Congress P. V. Narasimha Rao
24 Giridhar Gamang (cropped).jpg Giridhar Gamang
(Independent Charge)
15 September 199516 May 1996
25 Atal Bihari Vajpayee.jpg Atal Bihari Vajpayee 16 May 19961 June 1996 Bharatiya Janata Party Atal Bihari Vajpayee
26 Deve Gowda.jpg H. D. Deve Gowda 1 June 199629 June 1996 Janata Dal H. D. Deve Gowda
I. K. Gujral
27 Birendra Prasad Baishya 29 June 199619 March 1998 Asom Gana Parishad
(United Front)
28 Naveen Patnaik.JPG Naveen Patnaik 19 March 19984 March 2000 Biju Janata Dal Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(25) Atal Bihari Vajpayee.jpg Atal Bihari Vajpayee 4 March 20006 March 2000 Bharatiya Janata Party
29 P R Kumaramangalam 6 March 200027 May 2000
30 Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.jpg Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa 27 May 20007 November 2000 Shiromani Akali Dal
31 Sunder Lal Patwa 7 November 20001 September 2001 Bharatiya Janata Party
32 Ram Vilas Paswan (cropped).jpg Ram Vilas Paswan 1 September 200129 April 2002 Janata Dal (United)
(25) Atal Bihari Vajpayee.jpg Atal Bihari Vajpayee 29 April 20021 July 2002 Bharatiya Janata Party
33 L.K. Advani 2009.jpg L. K. Advani 1 July 200226 August 2002
34 Uma Bharati in 2014.jpg Uma Bharati 26 August 200229 January 2003
35 The Governor of Tripura, Shri Ramesh Bais.jpg Ramesh Bais
(Independent Charge)
29 January 20039 January 2004
36 Mamata Banerjee - Kolkata 2011-12-08 7542 Cropped.JPG Mamata Banerjee 9 January 200422 May 2004 All India Trinamool Congress
37 Shibu Soren.jpg Shibu Soren 23 May 200424 July 2004 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Manmohan Singh
38 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in WEF ,2009.jpg Manmohan Singh 24 July 200427 November 2004 Indian National Congress
39 Shri Sis Ram Ola in his office after taking over the charge as the Union Minister of Labour & Employment in New Delhi on May 24, 2004.jpg Sis Ram Ola 27 November 200422 May 2009
40 B.K. Handique addressing at the signing ceremony of an MoU on cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources, in Ontario, Canada on July 08, 2010.jpg Bijoy Krishna Handique 28 May 200919 January 2011
41 Dinsha Patel.jpg Dinsha Patel
(Independent Charge till 28 October 2012)
19 January 201126 May 2014
42 Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water & Sanitation and Urban Development (cropped).jpg Narendra Singh Tomar 26 May 20145 July 2016 Bharatiya Janata Party Narendra Modi
43 Piyush Goyal.jpg Piyush Goyal
(Independent Charge)
5 July 20163 September 2017
(42) Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water & Sanitation and Urban Development (cropped).jpg Narendra Singh Tomar 3 September 201730 May 2019
44 A delegation of MPs from Karnataka along with Pralhad joshi.jpg Pralhad Joshi 30 May 2019Incumbent

List of ministers of state

Ministers of State of Mines
Minister of state PortraitPolitical partyTermDays
Vishnudeo Sai The Minister of State for Mines, Steel and Labour & Employment, Shri Vishnu Deo Sai addressing the SIMA conference, in New Delhi on August 01, 2014.jpg Bharatiya Janata Party 26 May 20145 July 20162 years, 40 days
Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary taking charge as the Minister of State for Coal, in New Delhi on September 05, 2017.jpg 3 September 201730 May 20191 year, 269 days
Raosaheb Danve Raosaheb Dadarao Danve oath as Minister.jpg 7 July 2021Incumbent2 years, 260 days

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References

  1. "Budget data" (PDF). www.indiabudget.gov.in. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. "National Portal of India : Government : Who's Who".
  3. Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), Nagpur
  4. National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM), Kolar
  5. National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), Nagpur
  6. Non-Ferrous Technology Development Centre
  7. "Mr S Vijay Kumar".
  8. "S. Vijay Kumar". Resource Panel. 14 March 2017.
  9. https://www.teriin.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/exploration-mining-india.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]