Lok Sabha Question No. 1208 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-14
Subject: Production of Iron
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Balak Nath, Manoj Rajoria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1208

## ANSWERED ON 14.12.2022

## PRODUCTION OF IRON

## †1208.SHRI BALAK NATH: DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government has  limited  the  expansion  of  mines  by  amending  the renewal  of  licences  rule  in  the  Mineral  Concession  Rules  in  the  country  including Rajasthan; (b) if so, the reasons therefor; (c) whether the notification has led to a decline in production of steel in the country specially in Rajasthan which has affected the production and supply of iron ore; and

- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINES, COAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

(a)  &  (b):    No,  Sir.  The  Government  has  not  limited  the  expansion  of  mines  by amending  the  renewal  of  licences  rule  in  the  Mineral  Concession  Rules  in  the country including Rajasthan. Rather, a uniform lease period of 50 years has been prescribed to ensure certainty in mining lease period.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 [MMDR Act, 1957] was amended with effect from  12.01.2015. Through  the  said amendment,  auction regime  was  introduced  for  grant  of  mineral  concessions  by  the  respective  State Governments.  As  per  Section  8A  of  MMDR  Act,  1957,  on  and  from  the  date  of commencement of the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 (w.e.f. 12.01.2015), all mining lease  shall  be  granted  for  a  period  of  50  years;  all  mining  leases  granted  before commencement of ibid amendment Act shall be deemed to have been granted for the period of 50 years; on the expiry of the lease period, the lease shall be put for auction as per the procedure specified under the MMDR Act. Before amendment to the Act in 2015, mining lease were granted for a maximum period of 30 years, with the provision for further renewal; which was discretionary, resulting in uncertainty for the lease holder.

(c) & (d): The crude steel production grew at 4.4% annually (CAGR) from 88.97 MT in  2014-15  to  120.29  MT  in  2021-22.  Further,  as  per  the  information  provided  by Indian Bureau of Mines, the domestic production of iron ore is sufficient to meet the current demand/requirement by domestic iron & steel industry.

The  production  data  of  iron  ore  for  the  country  for  the  last  seven  years  is  given below:

(in Million Tonnes)

| Year       |   2014- 15 |   2015- 16 |   2016- 17 |   2017- 18 |   2018- 19 |   2019- 20 |   2020- 21 |   2021-22 (Provisional) |
|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------------------|
| Production |     129.32 |     158.11 |     194.58 |     201.42 |     206.49 |     244.08 |     205.04 |                  253.97 |

The production data of iron ore for Rajasthan for the last three years is given below:

(in Million Tonnes)

| Year       |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 (Provisional) |
|------------|-----------|-----------|-------------------------|
| Production |      1.01 |      1.08 |                    1.23 |

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