FDI in Indian mining - a study

Abstract

With 84 minerals out of which 4 are fuel minerals, 49 non metallic, 11 metallic, and 20 minor minerals undoubtedly India possess one of the richest repertoire of mineral wealth. Mining sector is one of the more profitable of different government enterprises but there exists considerable opportunity for improving the resource position by adopting modern technology and methods like aerial reconnaissance or geophysical surveys using new and more powerful satellite imagery. These technologies can aid in the exploration of both recognized deposits and discoveries of new deposits. Before we move into the hue and cry of FDI into the mining sector we need to take a look at how this sector has been performing in the post-liberalization period. In this regard we have taken three of the more important minerals of India and studied how the companies mining them in India have performed in recent times. We have taken one fuel mineral-coal, and two metallic minerals – iron ore and bauxite (aluminum) for this purpose. Mineral fuels UoM World India % of World Coal bt 1000 102 10 Bauxite bt 34 3.1 9 Manganese ore bt 5 0.4 8 Iron Ore bt 180 13 7 Zinc & Lead bt 3.4 0.2 7 Rare Earths mt 110 1.3 1 Chromite bt 11 0.1 1 Source: Dr. R. N. Pandey, Director, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry