CCEA approves increase in minerals royalty rates

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved the long-pending increase in royalty rates of minerals.

"Cabinet in-principle approved revision of mineral royalty. There are 55 such items but this excludes coal, lignite and sand for stowing," Telecommunications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the CCEA meeting.

"We are satisfied that revision has been done. It has not been revised for a long time," he added.

The revision of royalty rates of 22 major minerals, including iron ore and bauxite, is expected to benefit states to the tune of Rs.12,000 crore.

There are 51 minerals prescribed in the MMDR Act, while almost all minerals, including bauxite, limestone, zinc and copper, would be impacted by new royalty rates.

States likely to benefit most include mineral-rich Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Karnataka and Jharkhand.

In 2011-12, states collected about Rs.9,400 crore as revenue from major mineral mining and royalty rates.

The rates of royalty, revised every three years for major minerals, excluding coal, lignite and sand for stowing, were last revised in 2009.