CII Communique - December, 2010

mining
VRS Natarajan, Chairman, BEML Ltd addressing. Also seen: V K Arora, Vice Chairman, CII Mining Construction Equipment Division,
Madan Mohanka, Chairman, CII Mining Construction Equipment Division and Kalus Tesch, Acting Consul General, Federal Republic of Germany
of Ontario and the Mining Ministry of India have signed
an MoU on various aspects of mining. He lauded India’s
investor friendly mineral policy.
Mr. Partha Bhattacharya outlined the importance of coal
to the Indian economy. Coal is one of the major energy
security providers in India with a share of 53 %. From
2007 – 2010 there has been a capacity addition in the
power sector of 22,000 mega watts where the growth
rate of coal demand has risen to 9 – 10 % per annum.
He emphasized overcoming the impediments to coal
production in India including forest issues, environment,
government clearance etc. He added that contractual
block mining should use high technology, ecology caring,
and machineries and equipments for sustainable mining,
and emphasised the need to use washed coal.
Mr. Shrinivas V Dempo said that mining in India is
running below potential, and infrastructure development
is a concern. He also raised issues like statutory
clearance for mining projects and the need to create
an efficient pool of manpower, especially geologists
and mining engineers. Mr. Madan Mohanka spoke
about environmental concerns and usage of high end
and effective mining equipment technology to mitigate
that.
Mr. Rajive Kaul said that India has abundant reserves
of several important minerals wherein states like Orissa,
Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand together
contribute about 40% of total mineral production in India.
He informed that currently the sector contributes 2.5%
- 3% to the nation’s GDP and is expected to contribute
about 5% by 2020. With mining and construction
equipment industry volumes of around 40,000 – 45,000
units per annum and an estimated turnover of USD 2.6
– 3.1 billion, the Indian market is still growing compared
to the global market that is estimated at over USD 75
billion, he added.
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, Mr Kurush Grant said
this bi-annual Summit is a grand showcase of the Indian
Mining Sector. Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, in his concluding
remarks briefed on the various initiatives taken for making
the mining sector more effective towards the rightful
utilization of natural resources while at the same time,
creating a platform for sustainable growth, job creation
and addressing infrastructure needs.
The Valedictory Session of the Global Mining Summit held
on 11 November was addressed by various dignitaries
including Mr Klaus Tesch, Acting Consul General, Federal
Republic of Germany, Mr VRS Natarajan, Chairman and
Managing Director, BEML Limited, Mr Madan Mohanka,
Mr V K Arora, Vice Chairman, CII Mining Construction
Equipment Division and Mr Rajive Kaul.
Mr Klaus Tesch said that India is one of the most
important export markets for German mechanical
engineering and mining equipment industries. He briefed
on a special project titled ‘Germany here in India,’ where
a number of events portraying Germany as India’s one
of the key bilateral partners will be organized by the
German Consulate in various Indian cities during 2011
– 2012. Similarly, ‘India here in Germany’ would take
place in German cities in 2013.
Mr VRS Natarajan stressed on the need for safety
and security along with achieving higher production
targets. Mr Rajive Kaul said that strong international
participation in the summit is a reflection of India’s
growing strength and huge opportunity it offers to
others. Mr Madan Mohanka expressed confidence
that with the availability of massive mineral resources
and huge demand, this sector would see high growth
providing huge opportunity for both domestic and
global companies.
In his concluding remarks, Mr V K Arora said that
both the international exhibition and the conference
attracted international leaders and eminent experts in
great numbers.
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