Cement, Energy and Environment

mining activities have been commenced till now. Such reserved areas needs to be notified for grant of composite licence / Mining lease to increase the participation of private sector companies. Further, there shall be transparency and fair play while reserving such areas for State Agencies in future. 11. Rationalisation of Levies and Taxes · Mining industry in India is the highest taxed in the world with Effective Tax Rate as high as 69% for existing mines. The MMDRA - 2015 has imposed various levies and taxes on the mineral production namely, DMF, NMET & Transfer Levy, thus pushing up the cost of extraction. This has a direct bearing on the end product i.e. steel, cement, aluminium and power etc and warrants rationalisation. In addition, some State Governments impose development taxes in lieu of mineral bearing land under possession and mineral production for development of a region. Such taxation by the State Government should be stopped with immediate effect to harmonize taxes, levies & royalty with world benchmarks to help private sector. · Royalty rates should be bare minimum in case of Auctioned block as Successful Bidder may have to pay premium in addition to other taxes & Levies. · Mineral Taxation needs to be rationalized at par with the mineral-rich countries, so as to boost exploration, sustainable mining and long-term benefits in terms of raw material security for the country. 12. Utilization of the district mineral fund for equitable development of project affected persons and areas. · The schemes DMF have not been utilised as proposed as a result huge fund is lying unutilised. Representatives of the companies contributing towards the fund should be included in DMF Committee. · Further, the name of the companies who are contributing for the development of the mining affected areas may be made public and given publicity to have better understanding. 1 3. Focus on make in India initiative · It is a welcome move. 14. Concept of Inter- Generational Equity · Policy also proposed to institutionalize the mechanism so that not only the present generation but also the generations to come are benefitted with the resources. Sustainable mining is certainly required and efforts are already being made. · However, it is not necessary that current mineral may continue in use in days to come or by next generation. With the advent of State of art technology, the current rejects/ waste may be useful in future. Even some of the alternatives may also be developed as experienced by us. With the development of solar energy, use of coal has declined in power generation. Similarly, Mica mining was in peak about 2 decades back in India but all are abandoned now. · The concept of inter- generational equity is certainly very good for sustainable mining and the total generation from any mines should be considered as resources and utilised effectively. It will not only help in optimum utilisation of minerals but also help in meeting the demand of 4