Mineral royalty to increase by Rs 2k cr
Mineral royalty likely to go up by more than Rs 2,000 crore as government may levy royalty on ad-valorem basis.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Mineral royalty is likely to increase by more than Rs 2,000 crore as the Group of Ministers (GoM) has asked the government to levy royalty on ad-valorem basis and share it with states, Minister of State for Mines T Subbarami Reddy said on Monday.
"We are likely to switch over to ad-valorem basis for calculating mineral royalty. So, royalty is likely to go up to Rs 3,000 crore from the current Rs 900 crore," he said at the annual general meeting of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries' (FIMI) here.
He said the Centre had no problem in sharing royalty with mineral-rich states like Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as they had a natural claim on royalty.
"The mining policy was discussed thoroughly by the GoM. The details are being finalised and would be put up for the Cabinet's consideration," he said, adding investment of over two billion dollars was expected within five years.
The Union Cabinet had earlier referred the policy to the GoM, headed by Home Minister Shivraj Patil to address issues facing steel and mining sectors and recommend a policy conducive for growth of the two industries.
Expressing concern on lack of efforts by domestic mining companies to go for fresh exploration, he said Indians spent a whopping Rs 50,000 crores annually to import diamonds and gold. "If the miners invested money to explore the same then the country could have saved considerable money," he said.
Reddy argued miners would have to invest risk capital to make fresh explorations and said he expected mining community to contribute Rs 150,000 crore to the country's GDP every year.
"We are likely to switch over to ad-valorem basis for calculating mineral royalty. So, royalty is likely to go up to Rs 3,000 crore from the current Rs 900 crore," he said at the annual general meeting of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries' (FIMI) here.
He said the Centre had no problem in sharing royalty with mineral-rich states like Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as they had a natural claim on royalty.
"The mining policy was discussed thoroughly by the GoM. The details are being finalised and would be put up for the Cabinet's consideration," he said, adding investment of over two billion dollars was expected within five years.
The Union Cabinet had earlier referred the policy to the GoM, headed by Home Minister Shivraj Patil to address issues facing steel and mining sectors and recommend a policy conducive for growth of the two industries.
Expressing concern on lack of efforts by domestic mining companies to go for fresh exploration, he said Indians spent a whopping Rs 50,000 crores annually to import diamonds and gold. "If the miners invested money to explore the same then the country could have saved considerable money," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Reddy argued miners would have to invest risk capital to make fresh explorations and said he expected mining community to contribute Rs 150,000 crore to the country's GDP every year.
Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
