India plans to become the world’s second-largest producer, after China, by 2020 and have a production output of 300 million tonnes by 2025, Union steel and mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar tells Prashant Mukherjee in an interview. Excerpts here.
Name the key achievements of your two ministries.
In mining, we have tried to infuse life in the sector by bringing in MMDR Amendment Act 2015. This will give mining activities a fillip, and will replace the pessimism and slowdown in this sector with optimism and buoyancy. Post-amendment, auctions are the only way to grant mining concessions. This is bound to bring transparency, fair-play and clarity into the concession process. This will boost investor confidence and incentivise investment in this sector. Furthermore, we have extended lease periods to 50 years, thereby granting security of tenure to miners, who will no longer be driven from pillar to post for lease renewals.
What steps have you taken for the welfare of people affected by mining activities?
It is worth mentioning that in the 66 years of independence, no government had previously expended its resources on the welfare of mining-affected people and places. Predominantly occupied by Scheduled Tribes, these areas had suffered neglect and no mechanism was evolved to cater to their needs. The present government has provided for the establishment of District Mineral Foundation (DMF), with the express purpose of increasing the standard of lives of mining-affected people. Existing miners will contribute an amount equivalent to the royalty towards DMF, whereas new miners will contribute an amount limited to the one-third of royalty. It is estimated that DMF will receive Rs 10,000 crore on an annual basis.
What about the stagnating steel sector? Analysts believe that the production target of 300 million tonnes by 2025 is a dream. Your take on this.
Since steel is a deregulated sector, the steel ministry’s role is limited to that of a facilitator and coordinator. We have proactively interacted with related ministries and states, to meet the demand of indigenous steel producers. As per figures released by the World Steel Association, India was the third-largest steel producer in the world in January-April 2015, leaving behind the US. Our target is to reach second position by 2020.
At present, India’s steel production stands at around 95 million tonnes, with SAIL being the major player. How do you propose to enhance the production?
In the last one year, we put special emphasis on the timely completion of modernisation and expansion activities of PSUs under the ministry of steel. On April 1, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation, the modernised and expanded steel plant of SAIL in Rourkela. The steel plants of SAIL are being expanded from a capacity of 13 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 23 MTPA with an investment of Rs 61,000 crore. The long-term vision is to take SAIL’s capacity up to 50 MTPA by 2025, with an estimated investment of Rs 1,50,000 crore. To aid research and development in steel, the ministry has also set up a Steel Research and Technology Mission with an initial fund of Rs 200 crore.
Source: The New Indian Express
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