Ministry of Mines (India) facts for kids

The Ministry of Mines is a very important part of the Government of India. Think of it as the main team in charge of everything related to mining in India. Its job is to create and manage the rules about how we find and dig up valuable minerals from the ground. The current leader of this ministry is G. Kishan Reddy, who started his role in June 2024.

Quick facts for kids
Republic of India
Ministry of Mines

Branch of Government of India
Ministry of Mines
Minster of Mines - G. Kishan Reddy
Agency overview
Jurisdiction	Government of India
Headquarters	Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi
Annual budget	₹1,669.52 crore (US$280 million) (2018-19 est.)
Agency executives	G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Mines Satish Chandra Dubey, Minister of State
Website	mines.gov.in

What Does the Ministry of Mines Do?

The Ministry of Mines has many important jobs. It looks for and explores different minerals. These include metals like aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, gold, and nickel. They also manage the main law for mines and minerals, called the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957. This law covers all minerals except coal and lignite.

To do all this work, the Ministry has several offices and organizations that help them.

Offices and Organizations

• Attached Office:
  • Geological Survey of India: This group is like a detective agency for rocks and minerals. They explore and map out where minerals are found. Their main office is in Kolkata.

• Subordinate Office:
  • Indian Bureau of Mines: This office helps make sure mining is done safely and correctly. It's based in Nagpur.

• Public Sector Companies:

These are companies owned by the government that work in the mining sector.

• • National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Bhubaneswar
  • Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), Kolkata
  • Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL), Nagpur

• Independent Organizations:

These groups work on research and development for mining.

• • Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), Nagpur
  • National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM), Kolar
  • National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), Nagpur

• Special Society:
  • Non-Ferrous Technology Development Centre
  • Centre for Techno Economic Mineral Policy Options (C-TEMPO)

India's Mineral Policy

India has a special plan called the National Mineral Policy. This plan helps guide how minerals are found, mined, and used in the country.

The First Mineral Policy

The first National Mineral Policy was created in 1993. Its main goal was to encourage private companies to invest in mining. It also wanted to bring in new, advanced technology for finding and digging up minerals.

Updating the Policy

Over time, it became clear that there were some problems. It took too long to get permission for mining. Also, there wasn't enough good infrastructure (like roads and facilities) in mining areas.

So, in 2005, a special committee was set up to look into these issues. Based on their suggestions, a new National Mineral Policy was introduced on March 13, 2008.

What the New Policy Does

The National Mineral Policy 2008 changed how the government and states work together. It aims to make it easier for private companies to invest in mining. It also wants to make sure that mining is done fairly and openly. A big part of this policy is making sure that mining is done in a way that protects the environment and helps the local people living near mining areas.

Laws for Mining

The main law that controls mining in India is the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act of 1957. This law has been updated many times over the years to keep up with changes in how minerals are developed.

Changes to the Law

Because the old law had been changed so many times, the government decided to create a new one. They wanted it to fit better with the National Mineral Policy of 2008.

A new bill was drafted in 2009-2010. It was designed to make the process of getting mining permits simpler and more open. It also aimed to make sure that money from mining benefits the local communities. This helps them build and improve things like schools and hospitals.

However, after elections in 2014, the new government made more changes. They decided that the only way to get mining permits would be through auctions. This means companies have to bid for the right to mine. Some people in the mining industry worry that this might cause delays and make mining more expensive.

Mining and the Environment

The Ministry of Mines also focuses on "sustainable development." This means mining should be done in a way that doesn't harm the environment and also helps the local communities.

Protecting Nature

The National Mineral Policy 2008 clearly states that mining must be done carefully. It says that mining activities should include ways to restore the environment and balance nature.

It also mentions that mining should not usually happen in areas that are very sensitive ecologically or have a lot of different plants and animals. The goal is to make sure that mining doesn't damage forests, water, air, or land.

Helping Communities

The policy also talks about giving fair compensation to people affected by mining. When a mine closes down, there should be a plan to restore the area. This plan should not only help nature recover but also consider the social and economic needs of the people who live there.

Leaders of the Ministry

Here is a list of the people who have served as the Minister of Mines in India:

No	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party		Prime Minister
1		N. V. Gadgil	15 August 1947	26 December 1950	Indian National Congress		Jawaharlal Nehru
2		Swaran Singh	17 April 1957	10 April 1962
3		Keshav Dev Malviya	25 April 1957	26 June 1963
(2)		Swaran Singh	26 June 1963	19 July 1963
4		C Subramaniam	21 November 1963	9 June 1964			Jawaharlal Nehru Gulzari Lal Nanda
5		N. Sanjeeva Reddy	9 June 1964	24 January 1966			Lal Bahadur Shastri
6		Tribhuvan Narain Singh	17 January 1967	13 March 1969			Indira Gandhi
7		M. Chenna Reddy	16 March 1967	27 April 1968
8		Prakash Chandra Sethi (MoS)	27 April 1968	14 February 1969
9		Triguna Sen	14 February 1969	18 March 1971
10		Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam	2 May 1971	31 May 1973
11		Indira Gandhi	6 June 1973	23 July 1973
12		T. A. Pai	23 July 1973	11 January 1974
(3)		Keshav Dev Malviya	11 January 1974	10 October 1974
13		Chandrajit Yadav (MoS)	10 October 1974	24 March 1977
14		Biju Patnaik	26 March 1977	15 July 1979	Janata Party		Morarji Desai
			30 July 1979	14 January 1980	Janata Party (Secular)		Charan Singh
15		Pranab Mukherjee	16 January 1980	15 January 1982	Indian National Congress		Indira Gandhi
16		N. D. Tiwari	15 January 1982	14 February 1983
17		N. K. P. Salve (Independent Charge)	14 February 1983	31 December 1984			Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi
18		Vasant Sathe	31 December 1984	25 September 1985			Rajiv Gandhi
19		K. C. Pant	25 September 1985	12 April 1987
(18)		Vasant Sathe	12 April 1987	25 July 1987
20		M. L. Fotedar	25 July 1987	2 December 1989
21		Dinesh Goswami	6 December 1989	10 November 1989	Asom Gana Parishad		V. P. Singh
22		Ashoke Kumar Sen	21 November 1990	21 June 1991	Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)		Chandra Shekhar
23		Balram Singh Yadav (Independent Charge)	21 June 1991	15 September 1995	Indian National Congress		P. V. Narasimha Rao
24		Giridhar Gamang (Independent Charge)	15 September 1995	16 May 1996
25		Atal Bihari Vajpayee	16 May 1996	1 June 1996	Bharatiya Janata Party		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
26		H. D. Deve Gowda	1 June 1996	29 June 1996	Janata Dal		H. D. Deve Gowda I. K. Gujral
27	Birendra Prasad Baishya	Birendra Prasad Baishya	29 June 1996	19 March 1998	Asom Gana Parishad (United Front)
28		Naveen Patnaik	19 March 1998	4 March 2000	Biju Janata Dal		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(25)		Atal Bihari Vajpayee	4 March 2000	6 March 2000	Bharatiya Janata Party
29		P R Kumaramangalam	6 March 2000	27 May 2000
30		Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa	27 May 2000	7 November 2000	Shiromani Akali Dal
31		Sunder Lal Patwa	7 November 2000	1 September 2001	Bharatiya Janata Party
32		Ram Vilas Paswan	1 September 2001	29 April 2002	Janata Dal (United)
(25)		Atal Bihari Vajpayee	29 April 2002	1 July 2002	Bharatiya Janata Party
33		L. K. Advani	1 July 2002	26 August 2002
34		Uma Bharati	26 August 2002	29 January 2003
35		Ramesh Bais (Independent Charge)	29 January 2003	9 January 2004
36		Mamata Banerjee	9 January 2004	22 May 2004	All India Trinamool Congress
37		Shibu Soren	23 May 2004	24 July 2004	Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		Manmohan Singh
38		Manmohan Singh	24 July 2004	27 November 2004	Indian National Congress
39		Sis Ram Ola	27 November 2004	22 May 2009
40		Bijoy Krishna Handique	28 May 2009	19 January 2011
41		Dinsha Patel (Independent Charge till 28 October 2012)	19 January 2011	26 May 2014
42		Narendra Singh Tomar	26 May 2014	5 July 2016	Bharatiya Janata Party		Narendra Modi
43		Piyush Goyal (Independent Charge)	5 July 2016	3 September 2017
(42)		Narendra Singh Tomar	3 September 2017	30 May 2019
44		Pralhad Joshi	30 May 2019	10 June 2024
45		G. Kishan Reddy	10 June 2024	Incumbent

Ministers of State

The Ministry also has "Ministers of State." These are junior ministers who help the main Minister of Mines with their duties.

Ministers of State of Mines

Minister of state	Portrait	Political party		Term		Days
Vishnudeo Sai		Bharatiya Janata Party		26 May 2014	5 July 2016	2 years, 40 days
Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary				3 September 2017	30 May 2019	1 year, 269 days
Raosaheb Danve				7 July 2021	10 June 2024	2 years, 339 days
Satish Chandra Dubey				10 June 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 10 days