New mining policy on cards to lure investment

India is formulating a new mining policy aimed at attracting foreign investment of Rs.1 trillion ($21.5 billion) and creating 500,000 jobs by 2011, a central minister said Thursday.

“The government intends to come out with a new policy because the existing mining policy of 1993 has become old and contains stringent provisions that restrict investors to put their money into the Indian mining and mineral sector,” Mines Minister Sis Ram Ola Ola told a meeting organised by the Association of Chamber of Commerce (Assocham) here.

The metals and mining sector is working closely with the Planning Commission to provide inputs for the new mining policy, which will be made public in the next two-three months, an Assocham release said.

Ola said his ministry had signed a number of memoranda of understanding to attract investments in the domestic mining sector from countries like Australia, Canada, China, Iran, South Africa, Mozambique and Kazakhstan.

Environment and Forests Secretary Prodipto Ghosh said: “The ministry of environment and forests will shortly come out with a notification, re-engineering, reforming and rationalising old guidelines to quickly give environmental and forest clearances for those who wish to explore the domestic mining sector to tap its huge potential.

“However, the new guidelines will ensure that exploration of mining potential does not compromise our natural resources,” he added.

Source: www.newkerala.com