By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, May 23, 2017 : A vibrant mining sector has the capacity to spur growth and add up to USD 70 billion to the country’s economy as well as generate 60-70 lakh jobs, according to a report “Mining Opportunities — Realising Potential’ by Confederation of Indian Industries [CII].

“In high growth scenario, mining sector can add close to USD 70 billion to GDP from now to 2030. Mining could play a crucial role in employment generation for India moving many from poverty to empowerment. In an accelerated growth scenario, mining can generate an additional 6-8 million jobs,” the report said.

Odisha is one of the mineral rich states of the country having a special distinction in the country’s overall mining sector. It has attracted large scale private investments to mining sector in last two decades. The total value of minerals produced in Odisha is highest in the country. Its share in the all India total is 11.89% while it is 7.13% for Rajasthan and 6.74% for Gujarat. The contribution of other states like Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka is 4.99%, 4.79%, 4.63% and 3.78% respectively according to Indian Bureau of Mines.

The Odisha government has collected mining royalty valued at Rs 6,693.62 crore as on March 27, 2017 since the enactment of the amended Mines and Minerals-Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act on January 12, 2015. The revenue has accrued from 96 operational mines engaged in the extraction of iron ore, chromite, bauxite and limestone.

The GSDP of the mineral sector, being the investment hub for mine-based large industries, grew robustly by 17.15 percent in 2015-16,’’ the latest Economic Survey says. Though Orissa is having the highest resource base, the contribution of minerals to State Gross Domestic Product [SGDP] is not satisfactory. Being a favored investment destination of global investors, this sector seems poised for rapid growth. But the irony of the situation is that despite being the most mineral rich state, it is one of the poorest states of the country.

Industrialization lies at the heart of Odisha’s growth story. Most of the state’s industries are mineral-based. In a State, richly blessed with ample natural resources, mining and manufacturing industries hold the key to unlock the vast potential of mineral wealth and subsequently create thousands of jobs for the unemployed but able youth of the State.

Bleak Future Of Employment Opportunities

• According to Quarterly Employment Survey, the next wave of job losses is expected to happen in three key services sectors — software, telecom and BFSI. Nearly 1.5 million white collar jobs will be shed in 12-18 months.
• According to Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman & MD K Lakshmikanth, “Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies”
• Other sectors have also not created adequate jobs for the vast number of engineers (800,000 a year) and graduates (12 million a year) that India’s colleges churn out every year.

The unemployment situation in Odisha is still worse with the State ranking 14th in the unemployment rate index, even standing lower than its neighbor West Bengal according to the Economic Survey 2016-17. According to Odisha Economic Survey 2016-17, the unemployment rate in Odisha was 4.3 percent in 2013-14 as against 3.4 percent in the country.

Migration of labour 

• According to The Economic Survey 2016-17, in a study involving latest methodology of Cohort-based Migration Metric (CMM), it was found out that migration for work and education is accelerating.
• In the period 2001-2011, the rate of growth of labour migrants nearly doubled relative to the previous decade, rising to 4.5 per cent per annum.
• The acceleration of migration was particularly pronounced for females and increased at nearly twice the rate of male migration in the 2000s.
• Odisha ranks 9th in the statistics of outbound migration in the country.

Ironically, in spite of rapid strides in industrialization, there have been critical detractions which have hindered the growth of the State time and again. This has seriously marred the fruitful outcomes like employment generation, wealth creation to eradicate poverty and malnutrition, provide healthcare and education in remote areas of the State among other benefits. One doesn’t have to look far into the past to find such examples which have created hurdles in the path of development for the people who desperately needed it the most.

POSCO’s exit form Odisha is a glaring example. The 52,000 crore project in 2005 could have been the single largest foreign investment in the State’s history which was forced to turn away, thanks to the concerted efforts of vested interest groups.

Prafulla Samantara, the noted activist from Odisha has recently won the Goldman Environmental Prize, popularly called the ‘Green Nobel’ at San Francisco, USA. He was felicitated with this award for his notable achievements of quashing the integrated steel project by POSCO in Jagatsinghpur district and crippling Vedanta’s Rs 60,000 crore investment in Kalahandi and Jharsuguda in Odisha.

In its recent Annual Report, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has linked Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS) in Niyamgiri Hills, Odisha as a rogue NGO which is acting as a front organisation for the Maoists. NSS has been vehemently opposing bauxite mining in Niyamgiri.

The Home Ministry’s report further exposes NSS acting as a façade to Maoist activities in Western Odisha by holding innocent tribals as ransom. The self-styled green activists have been at the forefront of stalling development activities in Odisha and creating a fear psychosis among fresh investors since the past decade in the name of environmental protection.

At a time when most countries in the West, including the US, are busy protecting their own industries by jobs exclusively for their natives, it is India which has to now create employment and job opportunities for its own youth. The worldwide situation has been aggravated recently especially due to large-scale layoffs in the IT sector leading to reverse migration and job shortage in our country.

According to Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and MD K Lakshmikanth, “Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies. He said this after analysing a report submitted by McKinsey & Company at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum.

With the service industry reeling under global uncertainties, manufacturing industries have the potential to generate enormous employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities in Odisha, even triggering another spurt of growth in enabling services like IT as well.