According to Indian government's Press Information Bureau, Indian Minister of Steel and Mines Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has urged India's state-owned miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to enhance production incrementally and aim for annual production of 75 million mt of iron ore by the financial year 2018-19 and 100 million mt by FY 2020-21, to increase iron ore availability in the country. In the financial year 2013-14, NDMC's iron ore output amounted to 30 million mt.
The steel minister underscored the fact that raw material availability at reasonable prices is essential for the economic development of the country. He urged NMDC to use all resources in its command to achieve this ambitious target, and remarked that this achievement will be the most important criterion while assessing the performance of the company.
The annual production of steel in the country is planned to be increased to a level of 300 million mt by 2025. This will require production of 500 million mt of iron ore annually. To meet the country's requirement of iron ore, it is essential that NMDC enhances its iron ore production substantially, through all possible means, the steel minister stated.