NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The cabinet approved on Friday a bill calling for coal miners to share a maximum 26 percent of their profits with local communities and for other miners an amount equivalent to royalties, a government minister said.
The bill now requires parliamentary approval to become law and is seen as a major move towards reform.
The bill had initially suggested all miners give 26 percent of profits to local communities.
The draft law proposes the profit sharing formula in a bid to smooth land acquisition, a touchy issue in the countryside, where many oppose natural resources being carted away by outsiders.
(Reporting by Nigam Prusty; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee)
