Daily Current Affairs

August 22, 2025

Current Affairs

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2025

Context: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have recently passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025. The Bill seeks to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.  

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key Features of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2025; Critical Minerals and National Critical Mineral Mission.

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2025

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025 seeks to boost the supply of critical and deep-seated minerals, and relax the regime for mineral conservation, zero waste management and extraction of strategic minerals.

Key Features of the Bill:  

Inclusion of other minerals in a Mining Lease :  

Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, a mining lease is granted for a specific mineral.

  • The Bill provides that lease holders may apply to the state government for adding other minerals to an existing lease.
    • For inclusion of other minerals, the lease holder must pay an amount equivalent to the royalty for that mineral. 
    • For inclusion of critical and strategic minerals and other specified minerals no additional amount needs to be paid. These include minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, gold, and silver.
  • In case of auctioned mines, the lease holder must additionally pay the auction premium for the included mineral. The central government may change payment requirements through a notification.
  • An atomic mineral above a specified grade cannot be included in a mining lease granted for non-atomic minerals.

Expanded scope of National Mineral Exploration Trust:  

The 1957 Act established the National Mineral Exploration Trust to fund mineral exploration in the country.

  • The Bill widens the scope of the Trust to fund development of mines and minerals. 
  • It allows the usage of funds in the Trust for exploration and development in offshore areas and outside India. 
  • The Bill renames the Trust as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust. 
  • Under the 1957 Act, all lessees are required to pay 2% of royalty into the Trust. The Bill increases the rate of contribution to 3% of the royalty.

Removal of limit on sale for Captive Mines: 

  • Under the 1957 Act, captive mines are allowed to sell up to 50% of minerals produced in a year, after meeting end-use requirements. The Bill removes the limit on sale of minerals. 
  • The Bill also empowers state governments to allow sale of mineral dumps stacked in the leased area up to a date specified by the central government.

Inclusion of contiguous area in mining lease for Deep-seated Minerals : 

  • The Bill allows for a one-time extension of the area under a mining or composite lease. This will be applicable for deep-seated minerals. Deep-seated minerals are minerals which occur at a depth of more than 200 metres from the surface of land. 
  • Mining area may be extended by up to 30% of the existing leased area under a composite licence, and by up to 10% of the existing leased area under a mining lease. A composite licence provides rights for both prospecting and mining.

Mineral Exchanges:

  • The Bill provides for establishing an authority to register and regulate mineral exchanges. 
  • The Bill defines mineral exchange as a registered electronic trading platform or marketplace for trading minerals and metals. 
  • The central government will frame Rules regarding mineral exchanges.

Significance of the Bill: 

  • Boosts domestic exploration and production of critical minerals.
  • Positions India as a major player in global mineral supply chains reducing dependence on China.
  • Encourages private-sector participation via royalty waivers and easier lease amendments.
  • Strengthens energy transition goals (solar, wind, EVs, batteries).
  • Institutionalises mineral trading platforms, improving transparency and investor confidence.

Critical Minerals

  • Natural resources that are essential for economic development, clean energy transition, and national security, but are vulnerable to supply disruptions due to:
    • Limited availability
    • Concentration of supply in a few countries
    • Geopolitical risks 

Examples of Critical Minerals: 

  • Energy Transition Minerals: Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Graphite (for batteries & EVs).
  • Technology Minerals: Gallium, Germanium, Rare Earth Elements (for semiconductors, electronics, space).
  • Defence & Aerospace Minerals: Beryllium, Titanium, Tungsten.
  • Others: Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, Chromium.

Supply of Critical Minerals is highly concentrated: 

  • China: Dominates processing of rare earths, graphite, gallium, germanium.
  • Democratic Republic of Congo: Supplies over 70% of global cobalt.
  • Australia & Chile: Major producers of lithium.

India sets eyes on 10% of global Green Hydrogen demand

Context: India aims to capture 10% of the global green hydrogen demand by 2030, with significant progress made through the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The global green hydrogen demand is expected to exceed 100 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2030. 

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Types of Hydrogen, National Hydrogen Mission

Mains: Benefits and Challenges in production of Green Hydrogen as a fuel. 

Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel

  • Hydrogen is the lightest and the most abundant element in the universe. On Earth, it is found in compounds like water or hydrocarbons. However, Hydrogen is not present in the free state. Therefore, it must be created and stored before it tends to be utilised.
  • Hydrogen Fuel: Hydrogen fuel is produced by splitting water (H₂O) into its components: hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂). The hydrogen gas can be used to power fuel cells, which generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, releasing only water vapour as a byproduct. 
image 20

Green Hydrogen: 

  • Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using electricity from clean energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, which do not release greenhouse gases when generating electricity. 
  • Green hydrogen is made when water (H2O) is split into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) via a process known as electrolysis.

Other Types of Hydrogen:

Depending on the type of production used, different colour names are assigned to the hydrogen.

1. Grey Hydrogen: 

  • Grey hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal. Grey hydrogen accounts for roughly 95% of the hydrogen produced in the world today.
  • The two main production methods are steam methane reforming and coal gasification. Both of these processes release carbon dioxide (CO2).
  • If the carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, then the hydrogen produced is referred to as grey hydrogen.

2. Blue Hydrogen: 

  • Blue hydrogen is similar to grey hydrogen, except that most of the CO2 emissions are sequestered (stored in the ground) using carbon capture and storage (CCS). 
  • Capturing and storing the carbon dioxide instead of releasing it into the atmosphere allows blue hydrogen to be a low-carbon fuel. 
  • Blue hydrogen is a cleaner alternative to grey hydrogen, but is expensive since carbon capture technology is used.

3. Pink Hydrogen: 

  • Pink hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water but using energy from nuclear power, which does not produce any carbon dioxide emissions.
  • Pink hydrogen facilities can achieve a high capacity factor due to the steady base-load profile of nuclear power (involving both stability and density), as compared to the intermittent supply from renewable sources (solar, wind). 

4. Turquoise Hydrogen: Turquoise hydrogen is made using a process called methane pyrolysis. In this process methane is split into hydrogen and solid carbon with heating in reactors or blast furnaces.

National Green Hydrogen Mission:

  • National Green Hydrogen Mission was launched in 2023 with an outlay of Rs. 19,744 crores from FY 2024 to FY 2030.
  • Aim: To develop India into a global hub for production, usage and export of Green hydrogen and its derivatives.
  • The scheme has set out a goal of at least 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of annual green hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
  • Initiative of: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

As part of the mission, the government has awarded 3,000 megawatts of electrolyser manufacturing capacity to 15 companies, signaling a major industrial push.  

Recently, the government has announced that India aims to secure 10% of global green hydrogen demand, or 10 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2030, which is an aspirational target than that set in the National Green Hydrogen Mission.  

Challenges associated with production of Green Hydrogen:

  • Renewable energy supply crunch: Achieving the target under the National Green Hydrogen Mission requires the installation of 125 GW of dedicated renewable energy and 250,000 gigawatt-hr. units of power (250 TWh), equivalent to about 13% of India’s present electricity generation. 
  • Relying on conventional energy sources: The main concern is that if electrolysers (which split water to produce hydrogen and oxygen) were to run 24x7, they would have to operate even at night when no solar power is available. This would then mean tapping into conventional coal-fired electricity (about 70% of the electricity on the grid is coal-generated).
  • Burning Biomass: India’s standards allow the use of biomass to produce green hydrogen, which results in carbon emissions when burnt.
  • Technological constraints: The challenge is to compress or liquify Hydrogen. It needs to be kept at a stable minus 253°C (far below the temperature of (-) 163°C at which Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is stored; making its ‘prior to use cost’ extremely high.
  • Prohibitive Costs: The production cost of green hydrogen has been a prime obstacle. Research conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) indicates that the cost of its production is about $1.5 per kg by 2030 (for countries with eternal sunshine and huge unoccupied areas) if several conservative measures are implemented.
  • Lack of Manufacturing and deployment of electrolysers: India’s current electrolysers manufacturing capacity is around 0.4 GW, which needs to be scaled to ~200 GW by 2050.
  • High cost of storage system: Fuel cells which convert hydrogen fuel to usable energy for cars, are still expensive.

Way Forward

Development of technology to produce green hydrogen is expensive. However, falling prices for renewable energy and fuel cells and stringent climate change regulations have spurred investment in the sector. 

  • Investing in R&D and promoting private sector participation in the hydrogen economy.
  • Developing standardised procedures, rules and standards for hydrogen economy which will standardise and scale up production. 
  • Mandating large users of hydrogen to shift to green hydrogen such as refineries, iron, and steel plants etc. For example, a minimum green hydrogen mandate can be introduced in such industries. 
  • Green hydrogen facilities can be created at sites where the cost of producing renewable energy is lowest. E.g., in the Thar desert region in Rajasthan and Ladakh etc.
  • Facilitating international trade in clean & green hydrogen.

Also Read: Hydrogen as an alternative fuel: Explained 

China’s Xinjiang-Tibet Railway Project

Context: China has recently set up the Xinjiang-Xizang Railway Co. Ltd. to construct a high-altitude railway line linking Hotan in Xinjiang with Shigatse and Lhasa in Tibet.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: China’s Xinjiang-Tibet Railway Project. 

China’s Xinjiang-Tibet Railway Project

  • The project is part of Beijing’s larger “Go West Strategy” to integrate its underdeveloped western regions.
  • The line will connect two restive and strategically sensitive frontier provinces – the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (northwest) and the Tibet Autonomous Region (south).
image 18

Key Features of the Project: 

  • The Xinjiang-Xizang line will run from Hotan in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to Shigatse and Lhasa in Xizang, Tibet.
  • The project is a part of five planned railway corridors into Tibet, aimed at building a comprehensive rail network across the high-altitude region.
  • The route is expected to run close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and may pass through Aksai Chin, Indian territory occupied by China since 1962.

Significance of the Project: 

The project has multiple aims including facilitation of the movement of soldiers to harness untapped economic potential in these regions.

  • Political Integration of Frontier Regions: Xinjiang and Tibet are historically prone to separatism and unrest. Enhanced connectivity strengthens the Chinese state’s presence and integrates them more tightly into Beijing’s administrative framework.
  • Cultural Assimilation (Sinicisation): The railway facilitates Han Chinese migration into minority regions. This supports the policy of Sinicisation, which aims to assimilate local Uyghur and Tibetan populations into the dominant Han culture.
  • Military and Strategic Utility: The railway provides the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with faster troop mobilisation and logistical support in high-altitude areas.
  • Economic Development of the West: The project seeks to unlock resources, promote trade, and generate employment in historically underdeveloped western provinces.

Implications for India:  

  • The railway may pass through Aksai Chin, strengthening China’s control over the Indian territory occupied by China since 1962.
  • It will improve the PLA’s mobility and logistics, giving China a military edge along the LAC.

Trending now

Captagon
B’nei Menashe: Identity, Migration, and the “Lost Tribes” Debate
Bauxite Mining Conflict in Odisha
Impact of Rising Energy Costs on Migrant Labourers