'India's iron ore export to China has colonial trade pattern'

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SME Times News Bureau | 19 Nov, 2011
In a sharp indictment of the huge volumes of Indian iron ore being shipped to China without proper planning, a senior official of the central steel ministry Friday equated bilateral trade between India and China to "colonial trade".

Addressing a two-day International Iron Ore & Steel Making Raw Materials Conference at a resort near Panaji, the ministry's deputy chief economist Susmita Dasgupta said coal and iron would soon be major issues to determine national politics and advocated caution against plundering finite national resources, which only enriched another nation.

"India exports iron ore to China and imports manufactured goods from that country. Not only India, even the markets of the US are flooded with Chinese goods. We must remember natural resources are a very finite matter. If we are surrendering our natural resources for manufactured goods from another country, it is a colonial pattern of trade," she said.

"India is not operating out of a long-term plan or vision with respect to its natural resources," Dasgupta further said.

She further said that India should emulate the US and Australia and cobble together solid and comprehensive policy document on mining that should be in place to ensure that interests of those other than the mine owners are not harmed in any way by the industry.

"In the US, mining laws are very strong. Consumers can take miners to court if their interests are jeopardized. You can't misuse your powers as a coal mine owner," she said.

"The official document of the Australian government shows that there is a gender disparity in the mining sector. As wages are going down badly, more women are being employed as miners for wages significantly less as compared to male miners," Dasgupta said, adding that the Australian government had officially declared that mining was "not a sustainable activity".

"India should look forward to similar documents for making mining activities equitable and more sustainable. More than tracking down the problem of illegal mining, it is also important to see where miners are putting their profits," she further said.