Page 14 - RMAI Bulletin July - September 2021

RMAI BULLETIN JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2021

fair share", mining in their territory is very difficult. Y The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) - to address
Few common hindrances created are: long-time grievances of affected people by mining
Y Delay in environment clearances. and help them.
Y Charges of corruption while allocating the blocks. Y National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) -
Y Arbitrary allocation of the blocks leads to long Stringent measures to check illegal mining and fill
litigation process. the gaps in the exploration process in the country.
Y Unwanted paper works to get them frustrated Y National Mineral Policy 2019 - encouraging private
with the process. sector to take up exploration with revenue sharing
model.
Y Judicial interventions. Example: Banning of
Vedanta group in Odisha (Niyamgiri Hills) 5and
shut down 88 illegal mines in Goa in 2018. Government of India's Initiative:
Y National mineral Exploration Policy has been
Political interference is here to remain but the lack of prepared to attract private sector into mining.
legal framework can make the issue more endemic. Y Star Ration of mining leases for sustainable
development framework.
Legislative Framework for Mining Y A Memorandum of Understanding was signed
Sector in India: between Indian Bureau of Mines and National
Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO to monitor mining
Y Entry no. 23 in the List II (State list), in the activities and deter illegal mining.
Constitution of India gives the state governments
Y The Mineral Surveillance System has also been
the authority to regulate the minerals located
within their state boundaries. laughed to check illegal mining through automated
remote sensing technology.
Y Entry no. 54 in the List I (Central List), in the
Y The District Mineral Foundation Fund was created
Constitution of India gives the Central government
the authority to regulate the minerals within the to help the people affected and mining and areas
exclusive economic zone of India (EEZ). In the under Pradhan MantriKhanijKshetraKalyanYojana
(PMKKKY).
backdrop of it, the Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act of Y 100% FDI allowed through automatic route for
1957 was framed. exploration and mining of Metals and Non-metals
ores.
Y International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulates
minerals exploration and extraction. UN guides the
treaty and India being a party to it has received Geopolitical Pillar:

an exclusive right to explore poly-metallic nodules It is a strategic analysis, especially of international
over 75000 sq. km in Central Indian Ocean Basin. relations that are influenced by dialogues, agreements,
Y The MMDR Act of 2015 has made auctions treaties or geological factors in favour of maintaining
transparent and removed discretions. peace around the globe. India is famous for her
agreement with China known as "Panchsheel". Similar,
trends were started after the world wars that made
many countries suffer a lot and its repercussions still
haunt us. However, these agreements cannot always
guarantee us peace and stability in the region. We are
familiar with the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the
Panchsheel agreement did not bear fruit even after
years of signing the agreement. The negotiations from
the third party made the situation stable.

So, if any bilateral ties cannot stand its terms then we
are having a serious issue with the geopolitics. Also,
the interconnected trends are kind of transforming the
overall geopolitical nature around the world; there are

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