The Steel Ministry has opposed the move to lower export duty on iron ore to boost exports.
“I oppose this,” Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said on Wednesday. He was talking to reporters after an agreement signing event to set up a power plant in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, the export duty on iron ore is 30 per cent.
PM’s stance
Verma’s remark come after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had urged increasing export of iron and other ores. Addressing the annual meeting of industry chamber Assocham on July 19, Singh had said, “We are also trying to remove the constraints in the export of iron and other ores which saw a considerable decline during the last one year.”
Earlier, in the presence of Verma, State-run NMDC signed an initial pact with IL&FS Energy Development Company (IEDCL) to set up a 500-MW coal-based thermal power plant at Gonda in Uttar Pradesh with an investment of Rs 3,000 crore. Gonda is the Parliamentary constituency of Verma.
NMDC Power, a subsidiary of iron ore miner NMDC, would initially have a 48 per cent stake in the venture while IEDCL, a subsidiary of IL&FS, would hold the remainder. “Subsequently, however, NMDC would dilute its stake in the venture to 26 per cent while IEDCL would have the rest 74 per cent stake,” NMDC Chairman C.S. Verma said at the signing ceremony here.
The project, which would mark NMDC’s foray into power, is estimated to be completed within three years from the date of financial closure at a cost of about Rs 3,000 crore. “Establishment of power plant at Gonda will encourage potential agro-based industries and help in ensuring better living and industrial growth in the region,” Verma said.
“The proposed partnership between NMDC Power and IL&FS would provide power to an area that has so far seen limited electrical connectivity,” said Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was also present on the occasion.