The Hindu Business Line : Growing opportunities seen for India in aluminium

Future upbeat: The Union Minister of State for Mines, Mr T. Subbarami Reddy, flanked by the President of the Aluminium Association of India and Managing Director of Hindalco Industries, Mr D. Bhattacharya (left), and the Chief Executive Officer and, Whole-time Director of BALCO, Mr Pramod Suri, at the International Conference on Aluminium 2007 in Hyderabad on Wednesday. —

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Nov. 21 The Aluminium Association of India (AAI) is coming up with a comprehensive paper on industry requirements that will accelerate its growth. This mission document would be submitted to the Union Government for follow-up action.

Stating this, the President of the AAI, Mr D. Bhattacharya said the consumption trends point towards growing opportunities for India, which has the world’s fifth-largest bauxite reserves.

With lower production costs in countries such as India, which could save up to $150 per tonne, there is increasing investment interest in the region, he said in his address at the three-day Aluminium meet, which opened here on Wednesday.

West to east

Mr Bhattacharya, who is also the Managing Director of Hindalco Industries, pointed out that global trends show a shift of overall production of aluminium capacities from the West to the East, with significant capacity addition taking place in China, India and Brazil.

An analysis of consumption trends based on creation of downstream products in the automotive sector, rail systems, electrical usage, cans, etc, shows that this is poised for significant uptake offering aluminium manufacturers the potential to rapidly expand their operations, he said.

While the Indian aluminium sector grows from the current 1.3 million tonnes per annum capacity to five million tonnes per annum within the next five years, it is poised to attract over Rs 1,00,000 crore investment and create employment for about one crore people.

Mining Policy

The Union Minister of State for Mines, Dr T. Subbarami Reddy, said that the new mining policy has been placed with the Cabinet and is likely to be cleared during the next meeting and also later in the Winter session of the Parliament.

While bauxite is the main input for the growth of the aluminium sector, most of these reserves are located in forest lands and in areas where tribals reside. Therefore, the Government policy seeks to ensure that the bauxite mining does not create problems to these tribals.

In fact, it tries to make sure that these tribals also get a part of the profits from these mines and are involved in various mining operations. The Government is sensitive to their rights and would ensure that their interests are safeguarded, he said.

Alongside, the new policy provides for a single window clearance of various regulatory issues, including environmental issues, which have been the main cause for low investments in the mining sector. In fact, the policy also allows a company to take up the issue with a tribunal if it does not receive clearances within 14 months.