With 500 mining blocks to be auctioned – no timeline has been given, though – along with a Rs 50,000 crore investment to ramp up critical infrastructure, and significant improvement in the process of getting mining licenses, the government hopes to attract large investment in the sector. Even without including oil, mineral imports add up to around 30% of India’s overall imports, making it clear just how important it is to get the mineral policy right.
Little has been done, however, about Indian levies that, on average, are around 40-45% (without including the corporate tax) compared to 5-14% globally.
