Government has exempted 165 District Mineral Foundation (DMF) from income tax payment. Earlier, 151 DMF trusts were exempted from tax which has been increased to 165. In a series of tweets, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said the collections under DMF as well as interest accrued will be exempted from IT. Mr Joshi said a Gazette notification has been issued to this effect.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #000000;">The Minister expressed hope the decision will result in more fund availability with the trust and ensuring better implementation and outcome-oriented activities for the welfare of mining affected people. The DMF is a non-profit statutory trust for every Indian district affected by mining-related operations. It is an initiative of the Central government to ensure that funds collected under DMF should be utilised for welfare of those affected by mining-related operations.</span><br />