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Members of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry have unanimously favoured putting curbs on exports of iron ore in the interest of the domestic economy and with a view to encouraging utilisation of precious raw materials to ensure value-added earnings for the country. Some of them expressed the view that exports of high-grade iron ore be curbed by canalisation through MMTC, while restrictions could be placed on other grades of ore to prevent misuse. Some of them also expressed concern over environmental degradation resulting from the process. Presiding over the meeting of the Consultative Committee of his Ministry here last evening, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, informed members that the government was reviewing the iron ore policy bearing in mind both the interests of the domestic industry and the current global market situation.
On exports, Shri Kamal Nath emphasised that state levies should not impinge on exports once the VAT regime was put in place. Members present were: Shri Sambasiva R Rao, Shri Abdul Rehman Antulay, Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana, Shri P. Karunakaran, Shri Shyam Chandra Gupt, Shri Rajeev Shukla, Shri N. R. Govindarajar and Shri Eknath K Thakur. Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry; Shri S.N. Menon, Commerce Secretary; and Shri Ashok Jha, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) also participated along with senior officials of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Minister assured members that he would look into all the suggestions made by them including ways and means for tapping the vast export potential of the Konkan region through adequate infrastructural support and addressing problems of the plantation sector, such as tea, pepper and tobacco.
Referring to the post-MFA scenario, Shri Kamal Nath said that his Ministry was in regular touch with Ministry of Textiles on the measures required to be taken to enable the Indian textile industry to gear up fully to face the challenges and opportunities after expiry of the restrictive textile quota regime of the multi-fibre agreement (MFA) with effect from 1/1/2005. He said that the government was trying to ensure continuation of the GSP market access in the European Union (EU) and expressed the hope that Indian textile exports would register a quantum increase after elimination of MFA quotas, despite the anticipated pressure of competition from various countries.
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