Polity · 15 Aug 2026

Entry 50 State List Entry 54 Union List mineral taxation

Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I
A. Entry 50, State List
B. Entry 54, Union List
C. Section 9D, MMDR Amendment (2026)
D. The 2024 Supreme Court ruling on mineral taxation
List-II

  1. Power to tax mineral rights, subject to limitations imposed by Parliament
  2. Regulation of mines and mineral development "in the public interest"
  3. Restricts new state levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land
  4. Delivered by a nine-judge bench with an 8:1 majority
AA-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
BA-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
CA-1, B-2, C-4, D-3
DA-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
This question is based on: The Court Gave States a Power. Parliament Just Wrote Around It.
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 15 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

Parliament passed the 2026 MMDR Amendment Bill (Lok Sabha, August 12; Rajya Sabha, August 13), introducing Section 9D to restrict new state mineral levies - two years after a nine-judge Supreme Court bench affirmed states' mineral taxation rights under Entry 50 in July 2024.

Why for UPSC

Match the Pairs is ideal for testing whether aspirants can correctly distinguish similarly-worded Seventh Schedule entries (state taxation power vs Union regulatory power) rather than conflating them - a classic UPSC federalism trap.

Prelims summary

Entry 50 (State List) lets states tax mineral rights subject to Parliament's limitations; Entry 54 (Union List) lets Parliament regulate mines in the public interest. The 2026 MMDR Amendment's Section 9D uses Entry 50's own proviso to cap state mineral levies, without disturbing the 2024 nine-judge bench ruling on paper.

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