RE: Gold Rush10 Jun 2019 21:39
Thus, ‘Make in India’ must be supplemented with ‘Find in India,’ where the world’s top mining companies with state-of-the-art technology start mining a wide range of metals and minerals, like coal, iron ore, bauxite, oil and gold, in India on a sustainable basis, with utmost care for the environment. Given the wealth of India’s untapped resources, if we produce even half the oil and gold we import, we would be a country with a current account surplus. It is on the basis of this enormous potential that we got 41 hydrocarbon blocks in OALP-I and have bid for another 30 blocks in OALP-II and III. We are currently producing around 200,000 barrels of oil per day and intend to double it in two years, aspiring, eventually, to take it up to one million barrels per day, once new blocks start production. At the same time, it is important to strengthen India’s position in global trade, while protecting domestic industry from dumping, so that companies are not averse to stepping up investments.
The National Mineral Policy 2019, approved by the Cabinet in March this year, aims to increase the production of major minerals by 200% in seven years. The target is achievable if the policy is kept absolutely simple and transparent, without a circuitous string of approvals. Further, the policy could be production, and not revenue based, because the entrepreneur or the businessman, who risks their investment, must earn a decent return from the project. The government may focus on the long-term and aim for steady returns, rather than pursuing revenue and profits that force prospective investors to stay away.
Besides tapping into India’s natural resources, where the sector’s share in GDP can easily go from 2% to 10%, the government may also look to make public sector companies independent. PSUs are our backbone and giving them autonomy will help raise both production and revenues, and create huge employment. We need not privatise them, letting them operate, instead, like an ITC or an L&T, where decisions are taken in the interest of the company, its business and its stakeholders. Lack of independence in PSU functioning has taken away these firms’ ability to think on their feet and take strong decisions when required. Today, Indians are running multi-billion dollar corporations across the world, so why can’t we do it in India? The government may only provide an enabling environment and, as stated by the PM, the government has no business to be in business. Further, this decentralisation must travel to the grass root level, where our district collectors are empowered to quicken decision making in vital areas like land, environment and sports. If each district develops, the nation will prosper on its own.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
