Panaji: The Centre will extend all possible support to the Goa government to expand mining activities, generate employment and improve revenue, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy said on Friday.
Addressing a press conference in Goa after the two-day Mining Ministers’ Conference organised by the Union Ministries of Mines and Coal, Reddy said the Centre wanted mining activities to expand across states with greater transparency, technological intervention and safety measures.
He said the mining sector had gained strategic importance globally due to the growing demand for critical minerals and increasing tensions among major countries over access to mineral resources.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Centre had been focusing on increasing mineral exploration and mining activities through transparent processes, he said, alleging that Congress-led governments before 2014 were plagued by mining scams and arbitrary allocation of mines.
“Over the last 12 years, there has not been a single such issue. We are working to ensure transparency and trust in the mining sector,” Reddy said.
Highlighting India’s achievements in the coal sector, he said the country had achieved record coal production of one billion tonnes for the first time since Independence. India is the world’s second-largest coal producer and consumer and has the fifth-largest coal reserves, he said.
Nearly 30 lakh people are employed in the mining sector, while around 73–74 per cent of India’s electricity generation is coal-based, he added.
On Goa, Reddy said discussions were held on increasing mining activities to create direct and indirect employment opportunities for local youth and communities. He said the Centre had requested the Goa government to explore possibilities of increasing the mining ceiling, subject to the relevant Supreme Court restrictions.
He said Karnataka had also requested an increase in its mining ceiling.
Reddy urged the Goa government to adopt technology across the mining value chain, including exploration, extraction, transportation, quality control and safety, to prevent unwanted incidents and ensure transparency.
“We have requested the Goa government to share the technology and software being used in the state so that similar systems can be adopted by other states,” he said.
The Minister also stressed the need to increase iron ore production in view of the country’s growing steel demand.
He said India currently produces around 168 million tonnes of steel annually and has set a target of increasing production to 300 million tonnes by 2030 and 500 million tonnes by 2047.
The government aims to make steel available at affordable prices, enabling people, particularly those belonging to lower-middle and middle-income groups, to realise their dream of owning a house, he said.
Reddy also called for the utilisation of old mining dumps in Goa, pointing out that significant quantities of iron ore could still be recovered from these deposits.
Assuring the state of the Centre’s support, he said the Union Ministry of Mines would extend all possible assistance to Goa in reviving mining activities, generating employment and accelerating development while addressing issues arising from Supreme Court restrictions.
