India hotbed of mining

India hotbed of mining

Statesman News Service, BHUBANESWAR

9th February 2006

Liberalisation had thrown open vast opportunities and global players in the mining sector are looking forward to the states of India, particularly Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, but the developments at the ground-level have not taken place as yet, said Mr DK Sahni, president of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) here today.

Welcoming delegations to the two-day Indian Mining Summit being organised by the FIMI and Orissa government, Mr Sahni stressed on the importance of mining industry in the country's income growth. He also elaborated the purpose and importance of these summits, which bring together all the stake holders in the mining industry to a common platform for succeeding in their common goal of accelerating the mineral sector growth.

Inaugurating the summit, steel and mines minister Mr Padmanabha Behera, spoke on how Orissa depended on the mineral sector. He pleaded strongly for value-addition in the mining sector for improving the per capita income of the people of Orissa.

The minister said the government will soon formulate a transparent and investment-friendly mineral policy for achieving sustainable development. Significantly, the chief secretary, Dr Subhash Pani, felt that the mineral policy to be India-specific considering its specific conditions. Dr Pani suggested that the NPV (net present value) collected while giving permission to use the forest land for mining should be given to the concerned state so that the state can use that for forestation and environmental protection.

Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee, principal secretary, ministry of mines and steel thanked the delegations at the conclusion of the inaugural session. Union minister, Mr Sis Ram Ola and chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik, who were to address the summit did not turn up.