By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI /BHUBANESWAR: FICCI has welcomed the India’s Ministry of Mines guidelines for auctioning of mineral blocks with pre-embedded clearances for mining projects. dated June 3, 2020. FICCI Mining Committee Chair & Managing Director, Essel Mining and Industries Tuhin Mukherjee said “The guidelines would help in increasing the mineral production and supply in the country providing the much needed raw material minerals to the end use industries like steel, aluminium, power, cement etc.”
FICCI Mining Committee Co-Chair Rahul Sharma said “The auction of mineral blocks with pre-embedded clearances is another significant reform taken by the government. This is going to attract huge investments in the mining and metals sector which has the potential to make the nation self-reliant, reduce import bills by US$ 100 billion and create multiple livelihood opportunities.”
FICCI Mining Committee Co-Chair Pankaj Satija said “The concept of pre-embedded clearance for mining projects is really a positive step towards reaching Atmanirbhar Bharat in the mineral space. Coming at a time when the country needs to hike up mineral production to support the resurgence of mineral based manufacturing sectors post nCovid19, this will certainly boost investment in the sector and ensure faster returns by guaranteeing commencement of production in quick time.”
FICCI Mining Committee Co-Chair Sumit Deb said “Awarding leases through a fair and transparent manner is very crucial, however due to multiple approvals required, operationalization of mines had been getting delayed in case of India. 95 leases have been allocated through auction since the introduction of auctioning regime, however only a couple of those have been executed due to lengthy approval processes.
Unlike some of the major mining economies which takes about a year to operationalise a mining lease, it takes 4-8 years in India. Thus, auction of mineral blocks with pre-embedded clearances is a welcome step. It would fast track the operationalization of mines which in turn would lead to employment generation, increased revenue for the State and increase the contribution of mining to Indian GDP which has been declining gradually for over a decade.”
