Parliament passes Mines and Minerals Amendment Act 2026 to standardize mineral taxation
The Central Government enacted the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026 to establish a uniform and balanced fiscal framework across the domestic mining sector.
Passed by Parliament, the legislation applies nationwide to regulate fiscal powers over mineral extraction between the Centre and State Governments.
The law amends the parent Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 to prevent States from levying fresh taxes on mineral rights except under Central conditions.
Unregulated and varying State levies were eroding mining viability, inflating industrial production costs across steel and power sectors, and threatening critical mineral supply security.
Entry 54 of the Union List and Entry 23 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule govern legislative competence over mineral rights and regulation.
Key definitions
Fiscal Federalism: The allocation of tax powers, revenue expenditure, and financial responsibilities between the central and sub-national levels of government.
Critical Minerals: Mineral resources essential for economic and national security that face higher risks of supply chain disruption.
Prelims Facts
The MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 modifies the parent Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
Under the 2026 Amendment Act, State Governments cannot levy fresh taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands without Central approval.
The amendment aims to create a uniform fiscal framework to prevent compounding State levies on critical mineral supply chains.
Mains Framework
The MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 marks a crucial reform in harmonizing mineral taxation and balancing fiscal federalism with national resource security.
Dimensions
Fiscal Implications
Streamlines mining levies to reduce cascading production costs in manufacturing and power sectors.
Federal Dynamics
Restricts unbridled State taxation powers over mineral rights, echoing constitutional boundaries highlighted in recent judicial rulings.
Economic Security
Enhances investment predictability for domestic and foreign entities in critical and strategic mineral extraction.
Way forward
Establish a joint Centre-State consultation mechanism under the GST Council model to equitably balance State revenue needs with national mining viability.
Key terms
MMDR Act 1957Fiscal FederalismMineral Rights TaxationSeventh ScheduleCritical Minerals
Acts & articles
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957Article 246Seventh Schedule (List I Entry 54 & List II Entry 23)
02
GS-2 · POLITY & GOVERNANCE
Madhya Pradesh High Court Verdict on Reservation Ceiling
Madhya Pradesh High Court strikes down 27 percent OBC reservation law as unconstitutional
The High Court of Madhya Pradesh struck down a 2019 State enactment that increased reservation for Other Backward Classes from 14% to 27%.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf at the Jabalpur Bench issued the 159-page judgment.
The order invalidated the statutory hike from 14% to 27% OBC quota and ordered recruitment authorities to fill 13% held-up posts within 3 months.
The 2019 Amendment Act enacted during the 15-month government led by former Chief Minister Kamal Nath was challenged by unreserved category applicants.
The legal cap of 50% on reservations was laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark Indra Sawhney case of 1992.
Key definitions
50 Percent Cap: The judicial threshold established by the Supreme Court restricting total reserved seats in public employment and education unless exceptional circumstances exist.
Article 16(4): A constitutional provision enabling the State to make reservations in appointments for backward classes not adequately represented in public services.
Prelims Facts
The High Court invalidated the Madhya Pradesh Public Service (Reservation for SC, ST and OBC) Amendment Act, 2019.
The ruling struck down the OBC quota expansion from 14% to 27% for violating the 50% constitutional ceiling.
The High Court directed state recruitment agencies to process the 13% posts held since September 2022 within three months.
Mains Framework
The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruling reaffirms the constitutional primacy of the 50% reservation ceiling established in Indra Sawhney (1992).
Dimensions
Constitutional Norms
Holds that breaching 50% quota requires quantifiable empirical data proving extraordinary conditions.
Administrative Efficiency
Resolves years of recruitment stagnation by ordering processing of held-up 13% posts.
Socio-Political Pressures
Highlights the recurring tension between legislative pop-up quotas and judicial review standards.
Way forward
States must rely on rigorous, empirical data collected through statutory Backward Classes Commissions before modifying quota percentages.
India and 14 economies sign joint statement against excess industrial capacity
India joined the United States and 13 other partner economies in endorsing a joint ministerial statement to address structural excess manufacturing capacity.
The statement was released by the Office of the US Trade Representative following G20 trade talks in Milwaukee and OECD discussions in Washington.
A total of 15 economies signed the joint declaration, calling for coordinated international measures against non-market trade practices.
The signatories emphasized that government-driven non-market subsidies create severe global supply-demand imbalances and distort industrial trade.
The World Trade Organization Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures regulates government interventions that injure foreign domestic industries.
Key definitions
Structural Excess Capacity: A situation where global production capacity in a sector persistently exceeds total demand, heavily driven by state subsidies.
Non-Market Practices: Government policies including opaque subsidies, state-directed lending, and price controls that artificially distort commercial competition.
Prelims Facts
A total of 15 economies signed the Joint Ministerial Statement on structural excess industrial capacity in October 2026.
Non-signatory G20 members included China, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
The joint statement urges creation of dedicated sectoral platforms to monitor and counter non-market industrial distortions.
Mains Framework
The 15-economy joint statement reflects growing global alignment against state-sponsored overcapacity that threatens domestic manufacturing resilience.
Dimensions
Trade Defense
Protects Indian domestic manufacturers from cheap, subsidized industrial dumping in key sectors like steel and solar.
Geopolitical Realignment
Positions India alongside key Western and Indo-Pacific partners in reshaping global supply chain norms.
Multilateral Tension
Exposes divisions within the G20, as major emerging markets like China and Russia opted out of the pact.
Way forward
Leverage coordinated information sharing to strengthen domestic anti-dumping frameworks while staying committed to rule-based WTO principles.
RBI tightens liquidity after rate rise raises daily CRR maintenance to 99 percent
The Reserve Bank of India tightened banking system liquidity by elevating the daily CRR maintenance threshold for commercial banks.
Issued by the RBI, the circular mandates all scheduled commercial banks in India to adhere to the revised reserve ratio operational norms.
The daily minimum CRR maintenance requirement increased from 90% to 99% effective from the reporting fortnight starting October 16, 2026.
The measure accompanied a 25 basis point repo rate hike to 5.50% and a scheduled ₹25,000 crore Open Market Operation bond sale.
Section 42 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 empowers the central bank to prescribe reserve ratios for scheduled commercial banks.
Key definitions
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): The specified percentage of Net Demand and Time Liabilities that commercial banks must maintain as cash balances with the RBI.
Minimum Daily CRR Maintenance: The statutory floor percentage of the total required CRR that a bank must maintain on each individual day of the reporting fortnight.
Prelims Facts
The RBI raised the minimum daily CRR maintenance requirement for banks from 90% to 99% taking effect on October 16, 2026.
The central bank announced an Open Market Operation (OMO) bond sale of ₹25,000 crore scheduled for October 13 to drain liquidity.
The previous instance of raising daily CRR maintenance to 99% occurred in July 2013 during the global taper tantrum.
Mains Framework
The RBI's tightening of daily CRR maintenance constraints overnight liquidity flexibility to reinforce its recent anti-inflationary monetary stance.
Dimensions
Monetary Transmission
Forces banks to align call money rates with the newly raised policy repo rate of 5.50%.
Liquidity Absorption
Combines quantitative OMO sales with operational reserve mandates to curb persistent headline inflation pressures.
Treasury Management
Reduces daily liquidity maneuvering space for bank treasuries, requiring higher baseline reserve holdings.
Way forward
Banks must refine automated treasury cash-flow forecasting to maintain 99% daily CRR compliance without incurring penal interest rates.
Study highlights regional variations in coral bleaching across India reef regions
A comprehensive marine survey revealed stark regional differences in how Indian coral reefs responded to thermal heat stress during 2024.
Conducted across five key regions: Lakshadweep archipelago, Goa, Palk Bay, Ritchie's Archipelago, and Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park.
Surveys conducted between April 20 and June 7, 2024 found Lakshadweep faced 37% coral mortality, while MGMNP recorded only 11.5%.
The study underscores how localized hydrodynamic factors and thermal refuges alter the impact of global warming on marine biodiversity.
Coral reef ecosystems receive strict legal protection under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Key definitions
Coral Bleaching: The process wherein stressed corals expel the photosynthetic algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, turning completely white.
Thermal Refuge: A localized marine area where unique oceanographic conditions buffer coral ecosystems from extreme sea surface temperature spikes.
Prelims Facts
Rapid coral bleaching assessments were conducted across five Indian reef regions between April 20 and June 7, 2024.
Lakshadweep was the most impacted reef region with up to 37% coral bleaching or mortality during intermediate heat stress.
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park (MGMNP) in the Andaman Islands recorded low bleaching of 11.5% due to local marine factors.
Mains Framework
The regional divergence in coral bleaching across Indian waters demonstrates the imperative of localized, micro-climate conservation strategies.
Dimensions
Ecological Impact
Expulsion of zooxanthellae severely impairs marine food webs and coastal protection barriers.
Micro-Climate Resilience
Highlights how deep-water flushing and ocean currents create thermal refuges in the Andaman archipelago.
Data Gaps
Emphasizes the severe deficit of long-term ecological monitoring data across South Asian marine ecosystems.
Way forward
Establish site-specific Marine Protected Area (MPA) management frameworks tailored to local oceanographic dynamics rather than broad national policies.
United States suspends major IT outsourcing firms from permanent labour certification programme
The United States Department of Labor suspended eight major technology corporations from participating in the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) program.
Announced in Washington by US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling alongside Vice President J.D. Vance, head of the Anti-Fraud Task Force.
The action taken on October 8, 2026 freezes all new and pending green card labor certifications for foreign tech workers.
The decision targets Indian IT giants Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL, and Cognizant alongside US multinationals Microsoft and Adobe.
GATS Mode 4 governs the temporary cross-border movement of natural persons providing professional services in foreign territories.
Key definitions
PERM Programme: An employment-based green card process managed by the US Department of Labor to certify that foreign workers do not displace domestic labor.
GATS Mode 4: A General Agreement on Trade in Services category covering the temporary entry and stay of individuals to supply services abroad.
Prelims Facts
The US Department of Labor suspended 8 IT giants from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) program on October 8, 2026.
Suspended companies include Indian IT firms Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL, and Cognizant.
The Ministry of External Affairs termed characterizations of Indian technology professionals as deeply offensive and unwarranted.
Mains Framework
The US suspension of PERM certifications introduces severe friction into the high-skilled services trade that anchors India-US commercial ties.
Dimensions
Impact on Professionals
Blocks clear career pathways and permanent residency options for thousands of Indian tech workers on H-1B visas.
Bilateral Friction
Drawbacks in trade diplomacy, with India rejecting characterizations of its IT talent while highlighting their US tax contributions.
Corporate Restructuring
Forces Indian technology firms to shift reliance toward nearshoring, GCCs, and domestic talent pools within India.
Way forward
Engage in bilateral trade dialogs to establish a structured, transparent legal framework for professional mobility under GATS commitments.
The author highlights India's historic entry into the top 10 at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai as proof of structural skilling investments paying off. The piece argues for granting vocational craftsmanship equal social honour and institutional backing as traditional academic degrees.
Key arguments
Practical vocational skills form the backbone of national industrial development and deserve societal esteem.
Dedicated state initiatives like Skill-Ex have successfully elevated Indian youth to international standards in diverse technical trades.
A skilled workforce is indispensable for transforming India into a resilient global manufacturing and service hub.
The other side
Deep cultural preferences in Indian society continue to prioritize formal university degrees over technical trade certificates.
Rapid technological evolution risks rendering static vocational curricula obsolete unless continually updated with industry participation.
Way forward
Integrate vocational training seamlessly into school education under NEP 2020 while building public-private partnerships to align skills with global market demand.
Use it inGS-2: Social Sector Reforms (Education and Skilling); GS-3: Indian Economy and Employment Generation; Essay: Dignity of Labour.
Mains practice questionVocational education in India has long suffered from social parity deficit compared to formal academic degrees. Discuss how institutional skilling reforms can transform India into a global hub for skilled human resources. (250 words)
Places, schemes, species and terms from today’s news — quick facts to revise.
Scheme
Udyam Platform
It is a digital registration portal operated by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Organisation
WorldSkills International
It hosts biennial international skill competitions to promote technical and vocational excellence.
The 48th WorldSkills Competition took place in Shanghai, China in September 2026.
Technology
Maareech Advanced Torpedo Decoy System
It is an indigenous anti-submarine defense system deployed on Indian Navy warships.
It detects, classifies, and distracts incoming enemy torpedoes in shallow and deep marine operations.
Report
UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2026
Published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Noted India accounted for 5.7% of global greenfield foreign investments during 2020-2025.
Term
Permanent Labour Certification (PERM)
A foreign worker certification process managed by the United States Department of Labor.
Serves as a mandatory prerequisite for foreign professionals seeking employment-based permanent residency (green cards).
Practice MCQs — Test Your Understanding
6 questions · UPSC Prelims pattern · Tap an option to check your answer
POLITY & GOVERNANCEMines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026
Parliament passes Mines and Minerals Amendment Act 2026 to standardize mineral taxation
Q1With reference to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, consider the following statements:
1. It prohibits State Governments from levying fresh taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands outside Central prescribed rules.
2. Legislative competence over the regulation of mines and mineral development is governed solely under the State List of the Seventh Schedule.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: Option A
Statement 1 is correct: The MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 mandates that State Governments cannot levy fresh taxes on mineral rights except within conditions prescribed by the Central Government. Statement 2 is incorrect: Mineral regulation is governed by Entry 54 of the Union List and Entry 23 of the State List, making it a shared subject under Central overarching legislation.
POLITY & GOVERNANCEMadhya Pradesh High Court Verdict on Reservation Ceiling
Madhya Pradesh High Court strikes down 27 percent OBC reservation law as unconstitutional
Q2In which landmark judgment did the Supreme Court of India establish the general ceiling of 50 percent for reservations in public employment?
Answer: Option B
In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992), a nine-judge Constitution Bench held that total reservations under Article 16(4) should not exceed 50%, except in extraordinary circumstances.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSGlobal Joint Accord on Industrial Excess Capacity
India and 14 economies sign joint statement against excess industrial capacity
Q3Which of the following international trade agreements directly governs actionable government subsidies that distort market competition and cause excess industrial capacity?
Answer: Option B
The WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) addresses non-market government subsidies and provides remedies for trade distortion caused by structural excess production.
ECONOMYRBI Liquidity Tightening and Daily CRR Maintenance Mandate
RBI tightens liquidity after rate rise raises daily CRR maintenance to 99 percent
Q4With reference to the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) in India, consider the following statements:
1. Scheduled commercial banks earn interest from the RBI on the CRR cash balances maintained with it.
2. The minimum daily CRR maintenance requirement sets the minimum reserve balance a bank must keep on each individual day of a reporting fortnight.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: Option B
Statement 1 is incorrect: Banks do not earn any interest income on the cash balances maintained as CRR with the RBI. Statement 2 is correct: The daily maintenance rule requires banks to hold a minimum fixed percentage (raised from 90% to 99%) of their required CRR every single day of the fortnight.
ENVIRONMENTRegional Heterogeneity in Coral Bleaching across Indian Reefs
Study highlights regional variations in coral bleaching across India reef regions
Q5According to the 2024 coral study, which Indian reef region experienced the highest bleaching severity (up to 37% mortality) during intermediate heat stress?
Answer: Option C
The study revealed that the Lakshadweep archipelago was the most severely affected region, exhibiting up to 37% coral bleaching or mortality, compared to 11.5% in Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSUS PERM Program Suspension and Cross-Border Services Trade
United States suspends major IT outsourcing firms from permanent labour certification programme
Q6In international trade law under GATS, the cross-border movement of IT professionals to provide technical services in another country falls under which mode of supply?
Answer: Option D
GATS Mode 4 covers the temporary entry and stay of foreign individuals (natural persons) to provide services in another member country.
UPSC Prelims PYQs on today’s topics
Real questions UPSC has asked on these issues — attempt them after reading the topics.
6. Consider the following statements : I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member. II. India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified. III. The Parliament, in 2023, has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite license for certain critical minerals. Which of the statements given above are correct?
With reference to the management of minor minerals in India, consider the following statements : 1. Sand is a ‘minor mineral’ according to the prevailing law in the country. 2. State Governments have the power to grant mining leases of minor minerals, but the powers regarding the formation of rules related to the grant of minor minerals lie with the Central Government. 3. State Governments have the power to frame rules to prevent illegal mining of minor minerals. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
If the RBI decides to adopt an expansionist monetary policy, which of the following would it not do ? 1. Cut and optimize the Statutory Liquidity Ratio 2. Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate 3. Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate Select the correct answer using the code given below :
