Mineral mining in need of FDI, modern technology: FIMI Director R K Sharma

He says, failure to attract investment in the same order as our geological siblings has kept India as a big net importer of minerals

Lack of foreign investment and application of modern exploration technologies in the mining sector have made the country a big net importer of minerals, R K Sharma, director general of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, tells Kunal Bose. Edited excerpts:

Why is the performance of India’s mining industry not in sync with the resources lying underground? 

We are aware that geologically India has almost an identical prospectivity as the world’s mineral rich countries such as Australia, Brazil and South Africa. But the contribution of the mineral industry to our GDP in 2018-19 was a disappointing 1.75 per cent compared with 7.5 per