INDIA’S parliament swung behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid yesterday to kick-start his country’s ailing mining industry by further opening it up to the private sector.

It passed one Bill auctioning off minerals such as iron ore and bauxite for the first time and another reopening coal to tender after the supreme court ruled that the previous method was illegal.

The Bills had a bumpy ride through upper chamber the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling BJP lacks control — unlike the lower Lok Sabha where the Hindu chauvinist party’s majority is overwhelming after last year’s election.President Pranab Mukherjee’s required assent is expected to a formality.

India’s mining sector has been mired in controversy over the illegal allocation of resources, causing a near standstill in the granting of permits to open new mines.

India was once the world’s third-largest exporter of iron ore but is now importing heavily due to court action on illegal mining.

The country’s top court has eased some of the curbs, but states have dithered over renewing mining licences, fearing charges of corruption.

The opposition Congress and the Left voted against the Bill, while the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal abstained.

The coal Bill gives the rubber stamp to the auctioning method employed since the court decided the previous method of selective allocation was illegal, cancelling over 200 mines in the process.

Over 30 mines have already been auctioned off under October’s executive order.

by Our Foreign Desk