Welcoming the passage of the Mines Bill in Parliament, India Inc on Friday said the new law will bring transparency in auctioning of mines, boost investor sentiment and kickstart industrial growth.
“The passing of the Mines and Minerals Bill in the Rajya Sabha will provide transparency in the system, which will foster industrial growth and development in the country in the coming times,” PHD Chamber President Alok B Shriram said.
The bill will facilitate auction of mines that supply minerals like iron ore and bauxite, which will bring down the costs of raw materials and boost business sentiments,” he added.
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, seeking to introduce auction of mines to enhance transparency in mineral allocations was passed in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
The Bill was already passed by the Lok Sabha and seeks to replace an ordinance.
ASSOCHAM said passage of the Bill in both the Houses of Parliament shows that despite tough posturing, political parties are behaving in a very mature way when it comes to key economic reforms.
“Full marks to different political parties who showed same spirit in Insurance Bill,” ASSOCHAM president Rana Kapoor said.
The Bill envisages spending of a fixed percentage of revenue generated from mining on the development of the local area.
As per its provisions, there will be no renewal of any mining concession, unlike the original act of 1957. Also, the licence will be for 50 years, as against 30 now, after which there will be no renewal but compulsory auction.
Government has already identified 199 mines for auction.
The CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said this will bring in much-needed transparency in the allocation process and kick-start the mining sector, which was languishing for want of clear guidelines.
“The bill will pave the way for restarting mining in the country, thereby easing the pressure on availability of raw material, so vital for many key sectors that provide inputs to manufacturing,” he added.
“The long tenure of licenses of 50 years and well defined Centre-State powers, provided in the MMRD, will help build industry confidence in the process and attract investments, Mr. Banerjee said.
