PlanComm calls meet on mining

Mining output fell 3.4% in April-August compared to a dip of 1.8% a year ago, due to SC ban on mining in Karnataka and Goa

The Planning Commission has convened a meeting of ministries concerned next month to discuss the issues related to mining, including the ban on such activities in some states.

“We have called a high-level meeting of the ministries concerned next month to discuss the issues related to mining sector, particularly the ban on such activities in some states,” Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said.

The ban in Karnataka was partially lifted in April this year, while Goa miners expect the ban would also be lifted soon. The decline in output this year is mainly attributed to the ban on mining in the mineral-rich states like Karnataka and Goa by the Supreme court following allegations of irregularities.

According to the minister, representatives from the Department of Land Reso-urces under the Ministry of Rural Development, and those from ministries of environment & forest, and mines will participate in the meeting, scheduled for early November.

According to the government’s latest industrial production data, mining output contracted by 3.4 per cent in April-August period compared to a dip of 1.8 per cent in the same period in 2012-13.

In August, the mining production contracted by 0.2 per cent compared to a decline of 0.3 per cent in the same month last year.

According to national accounts data, the mining and quarrying output is projected to come down to Rs 25,568 crore at factor cost (2004-05 prices) this fiscal from Rs 26,302 crore in 2012-13.     The government’s latest provisional data reveals that the mining and quarrying output contracted by 2.8 per cent for first quarter (April-June) this year compared a growth in production by 0.4 in the same period last year.

Following the ban in iron ore mining in Karnataka in July 2011 and in Goa in September last year, India has gradually lost its place in the exports market.

India, which was the world's third-largest iron ore exporter in not so distant past, is likely to become a net importer of iron ore in the current fiscal, according to industry body Federation of Indian Mining Industries (FIMI).
    
There has been a constant decline in iron ore exports since 2009-10, when the outbound shipments stood at 117.72 million tonnes. This came down to 97.6 million tonnes in 2010-11 and 61.75 MT in 2011-12 and further to just around 18 million tonnes in 2012-13.

    
Iron ore exports had earned India $26.7 billion foreign exchange in three years between 2009-10 and 2011-12 from exports of iron ore, FIMI said.
    
Shukla said that apart from iron ore there is a need for increasing production of coal as country is expected to fork out around $20 billion this fiscal to bridge the deficit.
     
The proposed meet would also discuss the coal mining issue with the various ministries.
     
India had to import 135 million tonnes coal last fiscal to match the demand and supply gap. It is likely to widen to 140 million tonnes in the current fiscal.