Govt targets Rs 1 lakh cr FDI in mining in 2 yrs

Kolkata, Nov 23: Government is targetting around Rs one lakh crore FDI in mining sector in two years by introducing a new mining policy, Minister of Mines Dr T Subbarami Reddy said today.

"The new mining policy is under formulation by the Ministry based on the A Hoda committee report. It would encourage foreign companies to set up joint ventures with local companies," Dr Reddy told reporters on the sidelines of CII-sponsored India Mining Summit IMME 2006.

The new policy is likely be placed before the Cabinet and then before Parliament by the budget session.

"The new policy would streamline the mining process to make the prospective exploration licence holder eligble to execute the project," the Minister said.

The new mining policy would also enable the mining sector to contribute additional Rs 50,000 crore to the GDP and provide employment to a million people, Dr Reddy said.

The new mining policy would also provide a time limit for the state governments to allocate mining blocks to the entrepreneurs, he said.

Currently, FDI worth around 4000 million dollars had been approved by the Indian government and around 160 million dollars had been invested in the sector.

UNI