UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026
Q1. Which one of the following entries of the Seventh Schedule constitutes the principal legislative basis on which the Union asserts overriding regulatory control over mines and mineral development, invoked by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026?
- A. Entry 54 of the Union List, on regulation of mines and mineral development declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest
- B. Entry 23 of the State List, on regulation of mines and mineral development subject to the provisions of the Union List
- C. Entry 50 of the State List, on taxes on mineral rights subject to limitations imposed by Parliament
- D. Entry 52 of the Union List, on industries the control of which by the Union is declared by Parliament to be expedient
Q2. The 2024 Supreme Court position that Parliament may impose limitations on the States' power to tax mineral rights but cannot curtail their power to tax mineral-bearing land as such rests on a distinction between which pair of Seventh Schedule entries?
- A. Entries 50 and 49 of the State List
- B. Entries 23 and 54 of the State List and Union List respectively
- C. Entries 50 and 54 of the State List and Union List respectively
- D. Entries 49 and 45 of the State List
Q3. In its clarificatory order of August 2024 on the Mineral Area Development Authority judgment, over what period did the Supreme Court permit States to realise past demands of tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands?
- A. In instalments staggered over 12 years commencing from 1 April 2026
- B. In instalments staggered over 12 years commencing from 1 April 2005
- C. In instalments staggered over 8 years commencing from 1 April 2026
- D. In a single financial year, since no staggering of validly assessed constitutional levies is permissible
Q4. Consider the following statements comparing the Supreme Court's July 2024 judgment in Mineral Area Development Authority v. Steel Authority of India with the position that preceded and followed it:
1. The nine-judge Bench overruled the 1989 India Cement Ltd. v. State of Tamil Nadu ruling on legislative competence to impose levies on mineral rights.
2. The judgment was delivered by an 8:1 majority, the sole dissent being that of Justice B V Nagarathna.
3. Unlike the July 2024 judgment, the clarificatory order that followed in August 2024 gave the ruling purely prospective effect, barring States from raising demands for any period before 25 July 2024.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The nine-judge Bench overruled the 1989 India Cement Ltd. v. State of Tamil Nadu ruling on legislative competence to impose levies on mineral rights.
- The judgment was delivered by an 8:1 majority, the sole dissent being that of Justice B V Nagarathna.
- Unlike the July 2024 judgment, the clarificatory order that followed in August 2024 gave the ruling purely prospective effect, barring States from raising demands for any period before 25 July 2024.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 places its central bar on State levies relating to mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands in which one of the following provisions of the parent Act?
- A. A newly inserted Section 9D
- B. A newly inserted Section 11C
- C. The existing Section 9B, which deals with the District Mineral Foundation
- D. The existing Section 9C, which deals with the National Mineral Exploration Trust
Q6. With reference to the changes made to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 by the Amendment Bill of 2026, consider the following:
1. The central government may regulate any land having mineral contents, such land being identified in accordance with parameters prescribed by the central government.
2. A State Government may impose a levy on mineral rights or mineral-bearing lands only in accordance with the conditions or restrictions prescribed by the central government.
3. Amounts already deposited or recovered by States under such levies before the commencement of the amendment are to be refunded to the payers along with interest.
4. The central government is empowered to make rules prescribing the conditions or restrictions subject to which such levies may be imposed.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The central government may regulate any land having mineral contents, such land being identified in accordance with parameters prescribed by the central government.
- A State Government may impose a levy on mineral rights or mineral-bearing lands only in accordance with the conditions or restrictions prescribed by the central government.
- Amounts already deposited or recovered by States under such levies before the commencement of the amendment are to be refunded to the payers along with interest.
- The central government is empowered to make rules prescribing the conditions or restrictions subject to which such levies may be imposed.
- A. 1, 2 and 4
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 2 and 4 only
Q7. Which one of the following amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 first made auction by competitive bidding the sole method for the grant of mineral concessions, ending renewal of expiring leases?
- A. The Amendment Act of 2015, which also created the District Mineral Foundation and the National Mineral Exploration Trust
- B. The Amendment Act of 2023, which also inserted the Seventh Schedule and provided for exploration licences
- C. The Amendment Act of 2025, which also removed the ceiling on the sale of minerals from captive mines
- D. The Amendment Act of 2021, which also dealt with the transfer of statutory clearances on mineral blocks
Q8. Consider the following reforms and the MMDR amendment each is attributed to:
1. 2015 amendment — creation of the District Mineral Foundation and the National Mineral Exploration Trust
2. 2023 amendment — grant of exploration licences for minerals listed in a newly inserted Seventh Schedule
3. 2025 amendment — renaming of the National Mineral Exploration Trust as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust, with its contribution raised from two to three per cent of royalty
4. 2026 amendment — removal of the ceiling of fifty per cent on the sale of minerals produced from captive mines
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- 2015 amendment — creation of the District Mineral Foundation and the National Mineral Exploration Trust
- 2023 amendment — grant of exploration licences for minerals listed in a newly inserted Seventh Schedule
- 2025 amendment — renaming of the National Mineral Exploration Trust as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust, with its contribution raised from two to three per cent of royalty
- 2026 amendment — removal of the ceiling of fifty per cent on the sale of minerals produced from captive mines
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q9. Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023, the auction for the grant of an exploration licence for minerals in the Seventh Schedule is conducted by which one of the following?
- A. The State Government concerned, by competitive bidding with a reverse-bidding element
- B. The Ministry of Mines in the Union Government, which alone conducts every mineral concession auction in the country
- C. The Geological Survey of India, the Ministry of Mines body that carries out regional mineral exploration
- D. The National Mineral Exploration Trust, the central body funding regional and detailed mineral exploration
Q10. Consider the following minerals:
1. Hafnium
2. Strontium
3. Bauxite
4. Zirconium
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as figuring in the list of critical minerals identified for India by the Ministry of Mines committee, which underpins the National Critical Mineral Mission?
- Hafnium
- Strontium
- Bauxite
- Zirconium
- A. 1 and 4 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q11. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 received the assent of the Rajya Sabha on which one of the following dates?
- A. 13 August 2026
- B. 12 August 2026
- C. 10 August 2026
- D. 19 August 2026
Q12. Which one of the following best states the essential character that the Supreme Court, in its 2024 nine-judge ruling, authoritatively attributed to royalty on minerals?
- A. A payment arising out of the contractual obligation to enjoy mineral rights, and therefore not a tax
- B. A tax imposed by Parliament under Entry 54 of the Union List, collected by States as agents of the Union
- C. A cess imposed by the central government under Entry 50 of the State List for the purpose of mineral development
- D. A regulatory fee levied by the District Mineral Foundation on lessees for the benefit of mining-affected districts