The Rajya Sabha passed The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 on Thursday. The Bill proposes amendments to the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. The Lok Sabha had passed this Bill on March 6, 2020.

The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which will come into force after the President’s assent, will open a new era in the coal and mining sector specially, to promote ease of doing business, an official statement said.

“The amended provisions clearly provide that companies which do not possess any prior coal mining experience in India and/or have mining experience in other minerals or in other countries can participate in the auction of coal/lignite blocks. This will not only increase participation in coal/lignite block auctions, but also facilitate the implementation of FDI policy in the coal sector,” the statement said.

Now, the companies that are not ‘engaged in specified end-use’ can also participate in the auctions of Schedule II and III coal mines. The removal of the end-use restriction would allow wider participation in coal mine auctions for a variety of purposes such as own consumption, sale or for any other purpose, as may be specified by the Centre, the statement added.

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