New Delhi: The Ministry of Mines organized the 4th National Conclave on Mines & Minerals on 13th July 2018 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. State Mining ministers, officials of central ministries including Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), officials of the state government, CEOs of mining industries, industry associations, academic institutions and others participated in the conclave.
Union Minister of Mines and Union Minister of State for Mines were present in the conclave along with 6 state Mining Ministers, CEO NITI Aayog and Union Steel Secretary. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan was the chief guest of the conclave. He emphasized on the importance of mining in the state of Madhya Pradesh and acknowledged the efforts of Ministry of Mines in bringing transparency in the mining sector. Minister of state for Mines Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Choudhary emphasized the underlying importance of the mining sector as it provides basic raw materials to many important industries.
The Minister of Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, in his address highlighted the notable turnaround ever since the government took initiative for policy reforms which is evident from the robust growth of 6% of the mineral production in terms of volume and 23.4% in terms of value. With average annual accrual of Rs 6000 crore and present accumulated fund of Rs 19,500 crores, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) has ushered in the positive perception about mining industry by way of developmental works for the people and area affected by mining. He expressed his happiness over the fact that out of the 43 mines auctioned under the new auction regime, 2 have become operational and 9 more blocks are likely to be operational in this year.
CEO NITI Aayog ascribed key importance to the success of Mines in India for achieving Make in India version of the Prime Minister. He underlined the importance of the Mining Sector for the growth of the allied sector and for enabling sufficient job creation for our country to reap the demographic dividend. He urged the Union Mines Ministry to adopt investor friendly approach for furthering the development of mineral sector.
. Union Steel Secretary emphasized that mining is not a polluting industry, on the contrary, it has been instrumental in ecological reconstruction after mining operations are completed. She emphasized on developing synergies of the mining sector with its allied industries.
. For the first time, the conclave had an exhibition in which States put up stalls to showcase their more than 100 mineral blocks which have been prepared to be put up on auctions during 2018-19. The agencies concerned with pre-auction preparations such as exploration agencies (GSI & MECL), transaction advisors (SBICAP, CRISIL, KPMG), DGPS survey agency (MECON), etc also put up their Stalls. IBM & MoEFCC also put up stalls on mining plan and EC & FC processes. Participation from the public sector and private sector companies in the exhibition on mineral and metal industry also provided an overview for better appreciation of mining sector by the investors in terms of making investment decisions.
Two technical sessions were also held during the conclave. The State governments showcased the mineral blocks which are to be auctioned in the financial year 2018-19 in the first technical session. In the second technical session, presentations for the different stages in auctioning of a mineral block and its operationalization such as identification and preparation of a mineral block for auction, steps involved in approval of mining plan and grant of statutory clearances, were highly appreciated.
During the conclave, series of books have also been released by the Minister of Mines and Minister of State for Mines including a booklet on the achievements of Ministry of mines in the last four years. Important bulletins of Geological Survey of India were also released along with an ‘at a glance on mineral exploration in India’. Booklets of NALCO and HCL on ‘Aluminium –the future metal’ and ‘from waste to secondary resources’ respectively were also released. An app of NALCO – NAMASYA was also launched by the Ministers.
Mines ministers also held a round table conference with the industry leaders, in which several key issues related to statutory clearances were discussed. He sought suggestions for improvement and development of the mineral sector. He assured the industry leaders and other stakeholders that the suggestions received during the conclave will be given due considerations and decisions wherever required will be taken expeditiously.
In order to recognize efforts of the officials and to reward them for excellence in implementing auction regime, officials from various State Governments were awarded during the conclave who had extraordinary contributions in the completion of Auctions.
The conclave, first of its kind, will go a long way in strengthening the efforts of the Ministry in enabling the mining sector to contribute its fullest to foster the rapid growth of national economy and employment generation. It will help the Central Government to further improve the policy environment to promote best practices and addressing various issues in the mining sector leading to the enhanced contribution to GDP.
