Rs 29,000 Crore Revenue Loss to Karnataka Due to Ban of Iron-Ore Export from the State: FIMI Southern Region

 

Summary

* Appeals to Ministry of Mines, Karnataka to make submissions to Hon’ble Supreme Court for allowing permission of iron-ore export from the state

* Karnataka is the only state in India which is suffering because of these restrictions while the rest of India is exporting iron ore as per the EXIM policy of Government

The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), Southern Region has made an appeal to the Ministry of Mines, Karnataka to take appropriate facts and urgently submit necessary facts before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, in order to rectify the gross imbalance that has arisen due to the prohibition on exports and seek urgent rectification of the situation by permitting export of iron-ore from Karnataka.

The restrictions on trade of iron ore in Karnataka is suppressing the growth of the sector and have significant deleterious effects on the industry and also the public Exchequer. The restrictions on sale of iron ore in Karnataka were imposed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court keeping in mind the situation prevailing in 2011-12. At that time, mining operations had come to a complete halt in view of prohibitory orders made by the Apex Court. As per estimates, the gross loss over a 10-year period to the State of Karnataka is approximately INR 29,058.8 crores due to ban of iron ore exports. 

The rest of India is exporting iron ore as per the EXIM policy of Government of India thereby ensuring fair revenue to the State Exchequer including foreign exchange as well as overall growth of the nation by using the railways, port facilities etc. As per the data available, the total export in the year 2019 from other parts of India shows export of 10.34 MMT of fines and 1.16 MMT of lumps.

While, during the same period, the state of Karnataka, lagged when there is a surplus of 5.19 MMT fines arising due to additional production from auctioned C category leases and expired leases. Hence, an alternative market is urgently required since surplus iron ore may remain unsold even if the entire domestic demand is met from leases in Karnataka and without recourse to material from outside the State.

In Karnataka, approximately 70% of the sourcing is by single major steel player. These restrictions are also distorting the market as the buyer has the freedom of trade, i.e. right to purchase iron ore from either the e-auction or from other States or even to import from overseas. This has created a skewed market, disadvantageous to sellers as they can only sell to domestic end-users.

At present, the value of iron ore which is consumed captively, is derived from the IBM prices. This is affected by the monopsony arising from the e-auction system. The huge pressure on the lessees due to large scale imports (sometimes at higher prices than local ore) has forced lessees to resort to distress sale (since the iron ore remained unsold for many months and in some cases years). Consequently, IBM index price for Karnataka is low. From Jan 2018 to May 2019, iron ore prices have gone down in Karnataka by -18.7 %, although IBM prices for Odisha and Chhattisgarh have only marginally reduced by -2.7% and -7.7% respectively.

The reduced price of iron ore sold in e-auction, also has a direct impact on levies to be paid to State of Karnataka since the same are fixed, ad valorem and on the basis of the sale price. The State’s revenue is 30% of the sale price. Hence, the recovery of true value will substantially enhance the revenue of State Exchequer. Pertinently, revenue at the aforesaid rate will accrue to the State even on export. On the other hand, where ore is imported by consumers in Karnataka, the State earns only 2.5% import duty.

In 2018-19, approximately 6.67 MMT of iron ore was imported into the state, as a substitute for locally produced iron ore, thereby leaving unsold stock in mines and causing loss of revenue to the State of Karnataka. These imports have also affected sale of 8 MMT of old stocks.

Five Sanitization Products for Hospitality and Aviation Industry

In a bid to revive traveler reliance in the tourism and hospitality industry which is badly struck by coronavirus outbreak, cleaning standards have been greatly enhanced for every facet of the hotels, resorts, and flights.

The quality, hygiene, and safety are one of the most critical success factors in tourism. Following weeks of ceased operations that permitted time for extensive planning the hotel, tourism, and hospitality industry along with the aviation sector have elevated safety and sanitization protocols.

As we have already passed the first phase of Unlock-1, contactless procedures and safe removing measures are turning into the new typical basics because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety and sanitation protocols are being applied in maintenance and operational areas, with the use of upgraded disinfecting products and increased frequency.

Here are 5 sanitization products essential for safe tourism:

The UVD Robot

The UVD Robots stands for UV Disinfection Robots The UVD Robot is used as part of the regular cleaning cycle, and aims at preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases, viral, bacteria, and other types of harmful organic microorganisms in the environment by breaking down their DNA-structure. The robot is safe, reliable, and eliminates human error. Furthermore, it is user friendly and is designed to be operated by every-day cleaning staff. UVD Robots' inventive arrangement, which joins profound microbiological know-how, self-ruling robot innovation, and bright light to make the world's best UV-C based sanitization arrangement, has been demonstrated to kill pathogens like coronavirus and microscopic organisms.

Milagrow imap9

Milagrow Humantech has deployed imap9, a floor disinfecting robot that can navigate and sanitize the floors without any human intervention at various places, including hotels, airports, museums, hospitals, offices, etc. The robot moves around autonomously without falling, avoiding obstruction while planning its own path, guided by LIDAR and advanced SLAM technology. Milagrow’s patented Real Time Terrain Recognition Technology (RT2RT) scans at 3600, 6 times per second to make a floor map in real-time with an accuracy of upto 8mm over a 16m distance. This enables the iMap 9 to perform successfully in the first attempt, whereas other robots can take twice or thrice the time. Additionally, the robot can do zoning, virtual blocking of avoidable areas, and sequential cleaning of zones based on specific needs.

Zesta

Launched for the first time in India by Zestaindia.com, Wall Mounted Automatic Thermometer is exactly the product you need for safe tourism in hotels and airports. Gone are the times when you see a person standing with a handheld thermometer to check the temperatures. With Zesta’s Wall Mounted Automatic Thermometer, you can just install it at the entrances of hospitals, hotels, airports and other public areas and let everyone scan themselves with zero physical contact. This thermometer is easy to install anywhere and comes with color code alarm, fast and accurate detection. Priced at 10,999, it is available at all leading online platforms like Flipkart and Amazon.

Plasma Air Purifiers

Plasma air purifiers are equipped with very small filters that have the capability to catch small particles that other types of filters easily miss. This means that Plasma Air Purifier is able to reduce/eliminate the amount of not only bacteria and viruses but other harmful particles, such as dust, smoke, and pollen.

While respiratory droplets are considered the primary transmission route, experts strongly suspect some form of aerosol transmission may be occurring. Plasma Air’s HVAC-mounted ionizers use proactive air purification technologies to deactivate airborne viruses safely. The air purifiers are available on their official website Plasma Air.

PCE Instrument Thermal Scanner

PCE-TC 34 is a thermal imaging camera used for visual inspection and non-contact infrared (IR) temperature measurement. It is ideal for industrial use in electrical, mechanical, and building installations (such as in the auditing of machines, engines, or heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems).

This can be used to monitor the temperatures of people entering a particular public place and record all the data.

This is a high-definition, high-resolution thermal imager that captures and saves 640 x 480 pixel IR resolution images to the included SD card memory at a refresh rate of 50.

Is Dell likely to cut 1,900 jobs from Ireland?

Dell Inc, the world's No. 2 PC maker, will cut about 1,900 of 3,000 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Limerick in the west of Ireland, Dell said on Thursday.

Dell, which ranks itself as Ireland's largest exporter, largest technology company and second largest company overall, said it would move production of computer systems for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to its Polish plant and third-party manufacturing partners.

Dell cut more than 8,000 jobs last year and struggled to regain market share it lost to larger rival Hewlett-Packard Co. It also said last year it would outsource more manufacturing to cut costs.

Agencies