SME Times News Bureau | 15 Jun, 2019
A.K. Nayak, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, said
that National Mineral Policy (NMP) 2019, which aims to hike mineral production
by 200 per cent in seven years, is a fine document but would need support from
all stakeholders to make it a success.
Speaking at 'National Mineral Policy 2019 - A Landscape
of New Opportunities' conference, organized by FICCI,
jointly with the Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, Nayak said,
"The new policy is a very fine document, but it is up to all of us to make
it a blueprint for action. Unless there is complete synergy among all
stakeholders like industry, Central and state governments, regulators, it would
be very difficult to make a headway."
Highlighting key aspects of the new policy, Mr Nayak
said that it focuses on raising the share of mining in the country's GDP
through large scale exploration with priority to deep-sea minerals and by
assisting in getting the necessary clearances.
"The NMP talks of increasing mineral production by
200 per cent in seven years. It's a very ambitious target. It also talks of
reducing the trade deficit in mineral sector by 50 per cent in seven years.
Government is conscious of the fact that there is a need to reduce the import
bill," Nayak said.
He also
highlighted that the new policy has pitched for exclusive mining zones having
in-principle statutory clearances and intergenerational equity, among others.
Intergenerational equity is basically responsible and sustainable mining so
that we don’t exhaust all our reserves and leave nothing for the future
generation, he added.
He further suggested that utilizing both high and
low-grade minerals with beneficiation technology and by adopting global best
practices in exploration, mining, smelting and downstream processing. Creating
a consortium of small-scale mining companies for particular categories can help
them access both capital and technology, he added.
Tuhin Mukherjee, Chairman, FICCI Mining Committee and MD,
Essel Mining and Industries Ltd said that the mineral and mining sector must be
identified as an industry and that there should be a simple, transparent and
implementable policy.
Rahul Sharma, Co-Chairman, FICCI Mining
Committee and CEO, Alumina Business, Vedanta Group said that the mining sector
is more like a core sector and the country has enough resources and the time
has come to unleash the potential. India has the world???s highest tax structure
in mining at 65 per cent which the government has taken into cognizance, he
added.
Pankaj Satija, Co-Chairman, FICCI Mining Committee and Chief
Regulatory Affairs, Tata Steel Ltd said that the new policy is
focused towards sustainable and responsible mining as it also addresses issues
related to biodiversity and intergenerational equity for achieving
environmental and social goals. However, he added, "Implementation of the
policy will be key to make India self-reliant in mineral security."