Mines and Minerals amendment and State fiscal powers
Quick dive
- The 2026 amendment expands the Centre’s regulatory reach to mineral-bearing lands as well as mines and mineral development.
- It bars States from imposing fresh taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands except under conditions prescribed by the Union government.
- The amendment invalidates certain mineral taxes imposed by States but not fully collected before the law came into force.
- Mineral receipts constitute about 85% of Jharkhand’s and 80% of Odisha’s non-tax revenue, compared with 48% in Karnataka and 41% in Madhya Pradesh.
- exam_relevance: supplies a precise constitutional federalism problem involving Union List Entry 54, State List Entries 23, 49 and 50, and the Supreme Court’s 2024 position on State taxation of mineral rights.
Full explanation
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