Metals and mining magnate Anil Agarwal on Tuesday said around 500 mines in the country are currently not operational due to various disputes, and restarting them would help achieve the target of India becoming a USD 5 trillion economy.
Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta Resources, was speaking at an Assocham session on 'Future of Manufacturing in India'.
"The maximum revenue comes from the natural resources. Today we are just at the tip of the iceberg... We have today 500 mines which (are) not operating for some dispute.
"Let the production goes on. Let the production be doubled. If the production is doubled, there is no question we will not have our 5 trillion dollar target...," he said.
Agarwal also pitched for "self-certification" as seeking clearances took years.
"You make a huge penalty if we don't follow the norms but going through the process of getting clearances takes years. Somebody wants to increase the production, that itself takes years of time.
"(Through) self-certification, people can increase their production to at least to double...," he said.
Agarwal also said "phenomenal" wealth would be generated if 20 divestments happen yearly, unlike the present one or two every year.
"The kind of wealth which you will get will be phenomenal," he said.
Advocating privatisation, he said "nowhere in the world government runs the business."
Stating that the country's discoms were not operating well, Agarwal pitched for their privatisation and digitalisation.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU