President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday granted her assent to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, a controversial draft law to which many mineral-rich states have objected.Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had recently written to the President to consider the federal imperatives of the bill which he said encroached on the rights of mine and mineral-bearing states to levy taxes.Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also written to incumbent Chief Minister Mohan Majhi to resist the Bill.The Bill provides for the Centre to take control of mineral-bearing lands in states and also prohibits state governments from imposing any kind of levy, tax or cess on minerals.Under the law, state governments cannot recover previous or pending cess or taxes with retrospective effect and taxes already paid will not be refunded to mining companies.The law seeks to bring uniformity in mining sector, incentivise mining operations, attract private investment and align mining of critical and strategic minerals to the larger national goals of Viksit Bharat.Statement of objects of the The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, says it provides for the following: the Union will take under its control the regulation of mineral-bearing lands having the mineral contents in accordance with the parameters prescribed by the Central Government under the MMDR Act.This is in addition to the existing provision which declares the Union’s control over the regulation of mines and the development of minerals; insertion of a new section 9D in the MMDR Act provides that no tax, cess or such other levy (by whatever name called) shall be imposed by the State Government on mineral rights; or mineral bearing lands, either based on mineral quantity, mineral value, royalty or otherwise, except in accordance with such conditions or restrictions as may prescribed by the Central Government.It further seeks to provide that any such tax, cess or other levy which is not deposited with the State Government or recovered by it before the commencement of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, shall deemed to be invalid at all material times. However, any such tax, cess or other levy on mineral rights or on mineral bearing lands, already deposited with the State Government or recovered by it before such commencement, shall not be liable to be refunded.The amendments, government says, strive to provide certainty, stability and predictability in the fiscal regime in the mineral sector, thereby giving impetus to national economic growth which would facilitate the aims of Atmanirbhar Bharat and ultimately attaining the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.The Congress-led opposition had earlier opposed the Bill and said it will be challenged in the Supreme Court.