During a consultative meeting of India's Planning Commission concerning the country's 12th five-year (2012-2017) plan, the government of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has strongly advocated a blanket ban on export of raw materials, especially minerals, from India.
Jharkhand state industry secretary A P Singh, who chaired the meeting, stressed that the state government has been negatively affected by exports of minerals, including iron ore.
"In fact, representatives from all the five states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh supported our demand. I hope the Planning Commission will take up the matter seriously while preparing the final report and help in increasing the revenue of the states affected by export of mineral," said Mr. Singh.
On the other hand, China, which is one of the biggest iron ore importers from India, is concerned over falling supplies. China's import share from India has decreased to 12 percent in the first four months of the current year.