Mining in India
[2] The tradition of mining in the region is ancient and underwent modernization alongside the rest of the world as India has gained independence in 1947.
[3] The country produces and works with roughly 100 minerals, which are an important source for earning foreign exchange as well as satisfying domestic needs.
[3] India also exports iron ore, titanium, manganese, bauxite, granite, and imports cobalt, mercury, graphite etc.
[9] P. Biagi and M. Cremaschi of Milan University discovered a number of Harappan quarries in archaeological excavations dating between 1985 and 1986.
George Robert Rapp—on the subject of minerals mentioned in India's literature—holds that: Sanskrit texts mention the use of bitumen, rock salt, yellow orpiment, chalk, alum, bismuth, calamine, realgar, stibnite, saltpeter, cinnabar, arsenic, sulphur, yellow and red ochre, black sand, and red clay in prescriptions.
The details of the various geographical 'belts' are given in the table below:[14] India has yet to fully explore the mineral wealth within its marine territory, mountain ranges, and a few states and regions e.g. Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, Assam.
[17] Along with 48.83% arable land, India has significant sources of coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, and limestone.
[18] According to the 2008 Ministry of Mines estimates: 'India has stepped up its production to reach the second rank among the chromite producers of the world.
After the liberalization in 1991, a separate National Mineral Policy was promulgated in 1993 which set out the role of the private sector in exploration and mining and the MMDR Act was amended several times to provide for a reasonable concession regime to attract the private sector investment including FDI, into exploration and mining in accordance with NMP 1993.
The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 1999, inter-alia, provides for (a) introduction of a new concept of reconnaissance operations distinct from prospecting; (b) delegation of powers to the State Governments to grant mineral concessions for limestone; (c) granting of mineral concession in non-compact and non-contiguous areas; (d) liberalizing the maximum area limits for prospecting licences and mining leases; (e) empowering the State Governments to make rules to curb the illegal mining etc.
[citation needed] The Act was amended in the year 2015 with the intention of removing discretion and introducing more transparency in the grant of mineral concessions.
[3] India is also looking to follow the example set by England, Japan and Italy to recycle and use scrap iron for the ferrous industry.
The National Mineral Policy, 1993 aimed at encouraging the flow of private investment and introduction of state-of-the-art technology in exploration and mining.
In the Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, it was observed that the main factors responsible for lack of success of the Policy were procedural delays in the processing of applications for mineral concessions and the absence of adequate infrastructure in the mining areas.
To go into the whole gamut of issues relating to the development of the mineral sector and suggest measures for improving the investment climate the Mid-Term Appraisal had proposed the establishment of a High Level Committee.
[32] In recent decades, the mining industry has been facing issues of large scale displacements, resistance of locals - as reported by the Indian journalist Aditi Roy Ghatak in the magazine D+C Development and Cooperation -, human rights issues like indentured labour as reported by the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor and environmental issues like pollution, corruption, deforestation and dangers to animal habitats.
[40] Conservation and environmental NGO Awaaz Foundation filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court seeking a ban on mining activities along the Konkan coast.
[41] Awaaz Foundation, in partnership with the Bombay Natural History Society also presented the issue of sand mining as a major international threat to coastal biodiversity at the Conference of Parties 11, Convention on Biological Diversity, Hyderabad in October 2012.
[42][43] D. K. Ravi, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the Karnataka state, who was well known for his tough crackdown on the rampant illegal sand mining in the Kolar district, was found dead at his residence in Bengaluru, on 16 March 2015.
It is widely alleged that the death was not due to suicide but caused by the mafia involved in land grabbing and sand mining.
[45] Goa, a state of India, has 1000 million tonnes of iron ore reserves and thereby has a strong mining industry.
In order to maintain the sustainability of mining, the Indian government set up a series of regulations included in Act of Parliament in 1987.
[48] The main purpose of MFG is to implement their social responsibility by helping communities and residents near the mining area in various ways.
In some ways, they contributed a lot to the society through these projects, such as creating ponds, donating books and equipment to the schools.
Due partially to the lack of government documents and supervision, mine operators became more opportunistic, in other words, companies tended to take the risk of doing illegal things and gain more profit.
