Date | Aug 17, 2016:
As part of India’s resource security efforts to increase mineral production, the National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog has asked the ministry of mining to prepare a vision document outlining the sector’s strategy while gearing towards 2030.
Niti Aayog, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s think tank, has also called for reduction in mineral imports and optimal use of mineral resources.
“We have been asked by the Niti Aayog to prepare a vision document for the mineral sector in the country. The process is on and we will be submitting it by next week,” said a senior mines ministry official on condition of anonymity.
According to a recent report published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, the country will fall short of critical minerals, which need to be used for developing clean-energy applications and also for manufacturing high-tech products.
India may heavily rely on China to source these materials, much needed for its manufacturing sector, the report added. These include beryllium, chromium, germanium, limestone, niobium, graphite, rare earths, tantalum and zirconium, among others.
The NDA government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, in March last year, which allows auction of mines excluding coal and lignite. A total of seven mines have been auctioned in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh under the MMDR, with state governments set to receive revenues of more than Rs.18,146 crore over a period of 50 years—the entire term for which the mines have been auctioned.
Another mines ministry official, who also did not want to be named, said that the Niti Aayog has also raised the issue of sustainable mining and the vision document will clearly spell out steps being taken in this regard.
InfraCircle on 15 July reported that mines minister Piyush Goyal wants all mines in India to compulsorily subscribe to the star rating system.
The five-star rating system, designed by the Indian Bureau of Mines, is aimed to promote sustainable development practices, including scientific and efficient mining, and final mine closure. It also targets to address socioeconomic issues such as resettlement and rehabilitation, local community engagement and other welfare programmes.
Queries emailed to the ministry of mines and Niti Aayog on 16 August remained unanswered.
India’s mineral production for financial year 2015-16 increased by 9% to 495 million tonne. However, the overall growth in terms of value decelerated by 11% to Rs.39,767.3 crore during the same period.
Experts think the focus of the vision document should be implementation, and concerned ministries and public sector units should be made accountable for it.
“The first and foremost priority should be to fulfil the country’s mineral requirements to achieve desired growth. Moreover, yearly achievement should also be measured by the government,” said V.S. Jain, former chairman of the state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd.
In a bid to boost private investment in the sector and accelerate mineral exploration further, the government has also come up with the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) in June this year which allows private companies to explore the country’s mineral reserves.
The blocks containing lead, zinc, gold, silver, diamond and iron ore will be allocated to public and private agencies for reconnaissance or early-stage exploration. These blocks will be awarded on a revenue-sharing basis in case exploration efforts lead to discovery of auctionable resources.
On the back of higher production of iron ore and chromite, India’s overall mineral production during the first quarter of the current financial year has gone up 14% to 138.53 million tonne (MT) compared with 121.11 MT during the corresponding April-June period last year.
(Source: http://www.vccircle.com/)