<p>The Mines and Minerals (Development &amp; Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) has served as India’s principal statutory framework governing mineral prospecting and mining for nearly seven decades. Initially based on a licensing-and-lease regime grounded in administrative allocation, the Act has undergone several amendments to address issues of transparency, revenue realization, exploration deficits, local welfare, and national mineral supply security. Major structural reforms were introduced through the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015, which established auction as the primary mechanism for allocation of mineral concessions and created institutional mechanisms such as the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) to support community welfare and mineral exploration. Subsequent legislative interventions through the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 and the MMDR Amendment Act, 2021 aimed to ensure continuity of mineral production, enable smoother transfer of mining leases, and facilitate participation of private exploration agencies using NMET funding. Further reforms were introduced through the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023, which established an Exploration Licence (EL) regime to encourage private sector participation in exploration of deep-seated and critical minerals and restructured the First Schedule to facilitate exploration of selected strategic minerals. The MMDR Amendment Act, 2025 further expanded exploration funding by renaming NMET as the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust (NMEDT), enabled inclusion of additional minerals within existing leases, permitted limited area extensions for deep-seated deposits, introduced provisions for mineral exchanges, and removed restrictions on captive-mine sales. This review traces the legal evolution of the MMDR Act from 1957 to 2025 and evaluates its implications for mineral governance, exploration investment, and sustainable resource development in India.</p>