India’s aluminium demand to rise to 20 mt, says Vedanta Chief

The total consumption of aluminium in India is going to experience a major leap in the foreseeable future reaching 20 million tonnes (mt) from the present 2mt, claims Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal.

According to Mr. Agarwal, “It (India’s aluminium consumption) is going to be 20 mt. Large industries will move to aluminium products. Railways, construction, aerospace, automobiles will contribute to higher growth of the metal.”

At a recently held CII event in New Delhi, he said aluminium as a light metal has immense potential of becoming the mainstay of industries in future and setting up a small and medium enterprise (SME) in the sector would require an investment between INR 25-500 crore.

On being asked about credit related issues SMEs face in India, Mr. Agarwal said: “It is a myth (that banks cannot lend). They are looking for SME proposals.” When asked about the downturn in mines and minerals sector both globally and in India, he said: “This is the time to build. Who bothers about competition, we love it. Important thing is opportunity. We can grow in a slow market.”

Vedanta Ltd, has raised INR 2 lakh crore, about $ 30 billion, from the London market, which his firm has invested in India. The conglomerate produces aluminium through its subsidiary Balco in India.

“We brought it here and invested in oil and gas, copper, aluminium, iron ore and zinc. And with this investment of INR 2 lakh crore, every year at least $4-5 billion has been paid to the government as taxes, royalty and on top of that 60 lakh new employments have happened,” Mr. Agarwal noted.

The mining baron sounded quite enthusiastic about India's improving business environment. When asked if doing business in India was difficult, he said, “it will get better. One needs to keep working, keep moving ahead.”