Union Ministers of Steel and Mines inaugurate Conference on Indian Minerals & Metals Industry: Transition towards 2030 & Vision 2047
Union Ministers of Steel and Mines inaugurate Conference on Indian
Minerals & Metals Industry: Transition towards 2030 & Vision 2047
Union Minister of Civil Aviation
and Steel, Jyotiraditya M Scindia today called upon India’s mines and
mineral industry to reduce carbon emission by 30–40 per cent by the year 2030
to enable India make an impact globally for its growth, expansion and
exports. Addressing the two-day conference ‘Indian Minerals & Metals
Industry: Transition Towards 2030 & Vision 2047’, organized in New Delhi by
NMDC in association with FICCI.
Scindia said, there can be no better time for businesses
to pledge to cut carbon emissions by 30–40% by 2030 when India is transitioning
from Amrit Kaal to Shatabdi Kaal. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
direction, the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision is already demonstrating its extensive
impact across numerous industries. India has been a superpower on the global
vistas throughout this time, and industries must align with the progressive
vision of the government so that India stands on its strength when we celebrate
our centenary year in 2047. The government has established itself as a
forward-thinking collaborator with businesses to create India's new economic
growth narrative. Unprecedented reforms in the mining and steel industries over
the past eight years have drawn significant investment. The main factor
contributing to economic, capital, and infrastructure expansion worldwide is
steel.
Scindia added, “India's strength resides in its capacity
for consumption, which has transformed the country from being a net importer to
a net exporter of steel. Steel usage in India climbed from 57.8 kg in 2013–14
to 77 kg in 2022 and is predicted to reach 220 kg by 2047. Henceforth, India
has gotten much stronger in terms of steel output. In addition to this, India
has increased its annual production by 50% from 80 million tonnes in 2013–14 to
121 million tonnes this year, making it another significant milestone for the
industry. Moreover, India's influence may be seen in the fact that it rose from
being ranked No. 4 to No. 2 globally. We have set the target to produce
300 Million Ton Steel per annum up to the year 2030. To achieve this goal we
should focus on new Technologies and Innovation. To make the industry
sustainable and align with India's net zero targets, we need to gradually move
towards decarbonisation of the sector.
In the Inaugural address, Union Minister of Mines, Coal
and Parliamentary Affairs, Prahlad Joshi said, “The Government has introduced a
revenue sharing model as per which 50 per cent rebate is entailed on revenue
share on early production of minerals”. In 2021, MMDR Act was amended to allow
auction for mining lease of limestone, iron ore and bauxite blocks having
deposits at G3 level of exploration instead of earlier mandated G2 level
exploration. Further, auction for composite license for all minerals allowed at
G4 level of exploration instead of earlier mandated G3 level exploration. A
total 190 blocks of various major minerals have been successfully auctioned in
the last 7 years. In present fiscal, the government has auctioned 36 mineral
blocks whereas in the last fiscal the total revenue accrued from auctioned
mines is more than Rs. 25,170 Cr. The mineral and metals industry will need to
adopt sustainable ways and in order to bring sustainability, it is imperative
for the Indian mineral and metals sector to adopt best practices available
globally for increasing productivity and efficiency.
Sumit
Deb, Chairman–Cum-Managing Director, NMDC Ltd in his remarks said that the
vision of NMDC reverberates with the vision of National Steel policy as it aims
to augment annual production capacity of iron-ore to 67M tons by 2025 and 100M
tons by 2030,” he added.
Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI
stated that the mines and minerals play a key role in industrialization of an
economy. “It is vital for our country to create a strategy for critical
minerals and rare earth security. Reducing the supply chain and logistics cost
by improving the infrastructure and enhancing efficiencies in the entire value
chain would be essential to make our industries globally competitive,” he added.
Leading industrialists, policy makers, world renowned associations from the
steel, minerals and mining industry are taking part in the two-day conference.