Lok Sabha Question No. 281 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-19
Subject: Exploitation of Mineral Deposits
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA, B.V. NAYAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 281

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2018

## EXPLOITATION OF MINERAL DEPOSITS

281.   SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA: SHRI B.V. NAIK:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Union Government has taken any new initiatives and adopted new policies for total development and exploitation of mineral deposits in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the profits earned by various mining companies during the last three years and the current year;
- (c) whether the Union Government is considering disinvestment of loss suffering Public  Sector  Undertakings  (PSUs)  and  has  taken  over  some  of  the  profit earning PSUs in mining sector; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINES AND COAL(SHRI HARIBHAI PARTHIBHAI CHAUDHARY)

(a):  Yes,  Madam.  The  Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  and  Regulation)  Act [MMDR], 1957 has been amended through the MMDR Amendment Act 2015, which is deemed to have come into force with effect from 12.01.2015. The following new initiatives and policies for the development and exploitation of mineral deposits in the country have been introduced through the MMDR Amendment Act:

- i) Auction to be the sole method of allotment of mining concessions thus bringing in greater  transparency  and  dispensing  with  discretion  for  realisation  of  fair  value  of mineral resources.
2. ii)  Boost  to  exploration  through  National  Mineral  Exploration  Trust  (NMET).  An amount equivalent to 2% of the royalty to be collected from the miners to accrue in a dedicated  NMET  account  and  to  be  utilised  for  enhancing  exploration  activities.
3. iii)  Security  of  tenure  of  mining  leases  by  raising  the  lease  period  uniformly  to  50 years.  Extension  of  lease  period  provided  for  existing  mines  till  31.03.2020  and 31.03.2030 for merchant mines and captive mines respectively.
4. iv) Assured transferability to encourage private sector participation.

Further, a National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) has been notified to provide a framework for fostering exploration activities primarily by private sector companies. Unveiling of NMEP has placed special thrust on much needed exploration of deepseated concealed deposits for triggering economic growth of the country.

The Ministry has also started star rating of mining leases for implementation of  sustainable  development  framework  in  the  mining  sector.  In  the  star  rating  the performance  of  mining  leases  is  evaluated  based  on  technical,  socio-economic, environmental and adoption of best practices.

(b): The details of profit earned and losses suffered by the mining companies are not maintained  centrally.  However,  on  the  basis  of  information  received  from  National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) which are  the  Public  Sector  Enterprises  under  the  administrative  control  of  Ministry  of Mines, the details of profit earned during the last three years is given below:

(Profit after tax) (Rs in crore)

| Name of the Company   |   2015-16 |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |
|-----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| NALCO                 |    731    |    669    |   1342    |
| HCL                   |     37.74 |     61.94 |     79.83 |

(c)  and  (d):  Decision  regarding  disinvestment  of  equity  in  loss  suffering  Central Public  Sector  Enterprises  (CPSEs)  are  taken  by  NITI  Aayog  and  Department  of Investment  and  Public  Asset  Management.  However,  NALCO  and  HCL  (PSEs  of Ministry of Mines) are earning profit as shown in above table.

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