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Kohinoor Mandal

"Linkages for iron ore should be given only if a company is setting up a steel plant in India."

Kolkata , April 20

AFTER firing the first salvo against Korean steel major Posco, the Left parties are now gearing to stop all iron ore exports from India.

The CPI (M) is eager to take the matter all the way up to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, especially now that the Union Commerce Ministry has announced that 14 fresh licences would be issued for iron ore exports.

Mr Nilotpal Basu, Leader of the CPI (M) in the Rajya Sabha, said his party was against the export of any mineral from India because it would be used as a raw material for manufacturing units located elsewhere on the globe.

"We want value-addition of the mineral in India. For that there should be manufacturing plants. We want such units in India. So, the Government should stop promoting exports of minerals," Mr Basu told Business Line.

Regarding iron ore, he was even more categorical. According to him, it is not only just a scarce commodity but also a costly mineral in today's global market. "Linkages for iron ore should be given only if a company is setting up a steel plant in India. Otherwise we should protest against exports of iron ore," he said in the context of Posco's proposal to buy 400 million tonnes of iron for its parent plant in Korea.

The Ministry has not hiked the annual iron ore export target and has been retained at last year's level of 64 million tonnes. Asked whether the CPI (M) would oppose the DGFT's decision, Mr Basu said that his party would first study the Ministry's decision. "However, in principle we are against any mineral export of India", he reiterated.

The Ministry officials have said the decision to export iron ore was taken after studying the domestic demand for the mineral. However, leading steel companies have repeatedly urged the Union Government to stop iron ore exports.

At present, iron ore is the most sought after mineral in the global market. Its demand has jumped many times because of the massive steel requirement in China.

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