The industry has applauded the passage of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill 2015 in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Despite strong resistance from the Opposition, the Bill was passed in the Upper House on the last day of the first stage of the current Parliament session and will now be sent to the Lok Sabha.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) said that this Bill, once passed in both houses, “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,” CII said.   

Industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) also echoed the sentiments and said the Bill would augment mines’ productivity.

Apex industry body ASSOCHAM today said that passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 in both houses of the Parliament shows that despite tough posturing, political parties are behaving in a very mature way when it comes to key economic reforms.

Rana Kapoor, President of Assocham, said, “Now there is a likelihood of increase in production of iron ore that will help domestic steel industry as augmenting steel production capacity is crucial for growth and development of the manufacturing sector.” 

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