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Informist, Monday, Jul. 14, 2025
 
MUMBAI – India needs speedier approvals for mining and local recycling mandates to achieve the aluminium production goals set by the government for 2030, industry representatives and sector watchers said, as cited in a report published on The Economic Times newspaper Monday. The aluminium vision document released last week aims for India to achieve 50 million tonnes per annum of bauxite production by 2029-30 (Apr-Mar) and 150 million tonnes per annum by FY47.

The country's bauxite production has remained almost flat in the past decade with an output of 22-24 million tonnes per annum, while aluminium production has almost doubled to over 4 million tonnes per annum. Domestic consumption of aluminium is expected to reach 9-10 million tonnes per annum by 2030 and 28-30 million tonnes per annum by 2047, the report said.

"Having domestic availability of critical raw materials such as bauxite will be essential to ensure that we meet this requirement, else it may act as a bottleneck," the report quoted Rajiv Kumar, chief executive officer, Vedanta Aluminium, as saying. According to Kumar, achieving these goals requires accelerated expansion of existing mines to significantly scale up mining operations across resource-rich states such as Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh. 

Sector watchers say reforms such as the composite licence are promising, but they need to be backed by consistent policies and investor confidence, the report said. "Fast-tracking the auction of new mining blocks and upgrading existing operations with modern equipment are essential first steps," the report quoted Abhimanyu Rai, managing director, PwC India, as saying. 

Stagnant bauxite output and zooming aluminium demand have forced the country to ramp up scrap imports for recycling. As per the last published report by the World Bank in 2023, India is the largest importer of aluminium scraps in the world, surpassing China, leading to a $4 billion forex loss to the nation, the report quoted Rai as saying.

India must encourage recyclers to utilise domestic scrap, invest in tech-enabled traceability, offer policy support for recycling and remelting facilities, and restructure unhindered poor-quality imports through proper quality standards, the report quoted Kumar as saying.  End

US$1 = INR 86.01

Compiled by Shreya Shetty
Filed by Tanima Banerjee

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