In its second draft report, a mines ministry-appointed study group suggested hiking royalty on iron ore to 15 percent from the present 10 percent. The proposal was made based on views taken by the group from various stakeholders including state and centre governments, companies belonging to both public and private sectors, reports indicate
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KIOCL wants govt to clear mining lease applications
Malay Chatterjee, Chairman and Managing Director of KIOCL informed media persons that the Karnataka government was yet to provide clearance for the firm's over 20 applications for mining lease. For more than seven years, the Karnataka-based central public sector mining firm has been out of job with out any captive mines
Govt to set up coal regulatory authority fund
The central government would set up a fund called ‘The Coal Regulatory Authority Fund” to credit all grants, fee and charges received by the authority. After passing of the Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013, details would be worked out and submitted to the government for appropriate financial sanction for the initial start-up funding, a government press release said. The government said this in a press release after the cabinet cleared the proposal for setting up of an independent regulatory
Govt may not wait for Parliament nod for bill
The government has decided not to wait for the passage of the Coal Regulatory Bill in Parliament during the Monsoon session and instead go ahead with notifying setting up of the Coal Regulatory Authority (CRA) through an executive order, reports indicate. Some reports suggest that the government may resort to the executive order route to adopt the coal regulatory bill, thereby superseding the time-consuming Parl
Exploring new options
The exploration capacities of PSUs and the state governments are almost utilised. Dilip Kumar Jena and Bhavesh Singhavi recommend why we should study the best practices in Canada and other mining-rich countries while engaging the private sector.
Govt panel may suggest hike in royalty fees
A committee appointed by the union government to recommend on the amount of royalty to be paid by iron ore miners to state governments would submit its report in the next few weeks, media reports indicate. According to source-based information, the committee would suggest the government to raise the royalty fees of iron ore miners by 50 percent
Odisha govt cancels license of Deepak Steel
Odisha government cancelled the trading licence of Deepak Steel and Power and also refused to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the firm earlier owing to irregularities committed by the firm. The MoU signed with the firm has already lapsed and the state government refused to renew it. The company has allegedly produced more iron ore than what was statutorily allowed from the from an adjacent plot in Uliburu mines. The adjacent plot was categorised as reserve forest
51 mining leases cancelled by Karnataka govt
According to the order of the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government has cancelled 51 iron ore mining leases in Category C. Holders of these mines were charged of carrying out rampant mining illegally outside the lease area and hence the Supreme Court ordered for cancellation of the mining leases some months
Plea for attracting pvt investment in infra sector
Planning Commission deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia asked Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to promote private participation in the development of physical infrastructure. Ahluwalia urged Goa to try and cover all urban areas with sewerage network using latest technology to achieve the goal of total sanitation in the state. He offered the Planning Commission's full support to Goa in solid waste management and to make Goa plastic free
Govt to offer 7 open cast mines to raise coal output
The government has proposed to offer seven Open Cast Mines of about 25 million tonne capacity to Mine Developer-cum-Operators (MDOs) by this year end to increase coal production. Besides this, 14 blocks for power and three for mining have been put on offer recently under Government Dispensation Route and allocation of these blocks will be completed shortly

