UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SAIL Welcomes MMDR Amendment Act, 2026; Reform to Strengthen Mineral Security and Domestic Iron Ore Availability

Q1. Which one of the following amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 was the first to make grant of mineral concessions through competitive bidding the mandatory route, while also providing for a district-level welfare body and a national exploration trust?

  • A. The Amendment Act of 2021, which also ended the captive–merchant mine distinction
  • B. The Amendment Act of 2023, which also introduced the exploration licence
  • C. The Amendment Act of 2015, which also raised concession tenure to fifty years
  • D. The Amendment Act of 2025, which also dealt with deep-seated minerals

Q2. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 omitted how many minerals from the list of twelve atomic minerals specified in Part-B of the First Schedule, thereby opening their exploration and mining to the private sector?

  • A. Four
  • B. Six
  • C. Eight
  • D. Twelve

Q3. Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the District Mineral Foundation is required to be established by which authority, and for which areas?

  • A. The Central Government, in each district in which mineral blocks have been auctioned under the Act
  • B. The State Government, in each district affected by mining-related operations in that State
  • C. The Ministry of Mines, in each mineral-bearing district notified by the Geological Survey of India
  • D. The District Collector, in each district in which a composite licence has been granted

Q4. Which one of the following statements about the constitution and funding of the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) is correct?

  • A. It is set up by each State Government, and the whole of its corpus is transferred to the District Mineral Foundations of that State
  • B. It is set up by the Indian Bureau of Mines, which alone carries out all the exploration financed by the Trust
  • C. It is set up by the Central Government for regional and detailed exploration, and entities notified under the Act are eligible for its funding
  • D. It is set up by the Central Government, but only the Geological Survey of India is eligible to receive money from the Trust

Q5. After the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, a State Government may impose a tax, cess or levy on mineral rights or mineral-bearing lands only in which one of the following ways?

  • A. Only after the levy is approved by a resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament
  • B. Only up to a ceiling of one-third of the royalty payable on the mineral concerned
  • C. Only in respect of minerals specified in Part 'C' of the First Schedule to the Act
  • D. Only in accordance with such conditions or restrictions as may be prescribed by the Central Government

Q6. In the nine-judge Constitution Bench ruling of 25 July 2024 in Mineral Area Development Authority v. Steel Authority of India, 'royalty' was characterised as which one of the following?

  • A. A tax on mineral-bearing land, falling squarely within Entry 49 of the State List of the Constitution
  • B. A contractual consideration paid by the lessee to the lessor for enjoyment of mineral rights, and not a tax
  • C. A compulsory exaction imposed by Parliament under Entry 54 of the Union List to finance mineral development
  • D. A statutory contribution payable to the District Mineral Foundation for the welfare of mining-affected districts

Q7. The legislative competence of a State to levy taxes on mineral rights is traceable to which entry of the Constitution, and subject to what qualification?

  • A. Entry 54 of the Union List, subject to the State making a declaration in the public interest in that behalf
  • B. Entry 49 of the State List, and the power is not subject to any limitation imposed by a law of Parliament
  • C. Entry 50 of the State List, subject to any limitations imposed by Parliament by law relating to mineral development
  • D. Entry 23 of the State List, subject to the prior concurrence of the Central Government in each individual case

Q8. Which one of the following statements about the principal captive source of iron ore for SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant is correct?

  • A. It is the Rajhara–Dalli group of mines, situated in the same State in which the plant itself is located
  • B. It is the Bolani group of mines in Odisha, which principally serves this plant among SAIL's units
  • C. It is the Kiriburu–Meghahatuburu group in Jharkhand, which meets the entire requirement of this plant
  • D. It is the Barsua and Kalta group in Odisha, which alone supplies every unit of ore used by this plant

Q9. In India's mineral inventory, iron ore resources are reported principally under two ore types. Magnetite, the second of these, is correctly identified as which one of the following?

  • A. An iron oxide of the composition Fe2O3, the type that accounts for the bulk of India's iron ore resources
  • B. An iron carbonate of the composition FeCO3, worked chiefly in the Bailadila and Bellary-Hospet belts
  • C. An iron sulphide of the composition FeS2, valued mainly as a source of sulphuric acid rather than of iron
  • D. An iron oxide of the composition Fe3O4, distinguished by its strongly magnetic character

Q10. Of the thirty minerals identified as critical for India, how many stand included in the list of critical and strategic minerals in Part D of Schedule I of the MMDR Act, 1957?

  • A. Six
  • B. Twelve
  • C. Twenty-four
  • D. Twenty-nine