India has about 9 per cent of the total gold reserves in the world, yet imports gold worth more than Rs 65,000 crore. The government plans to reduce gold and diamond imports by Rs 20,000 crore.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
Nine mineral-rich states -- Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana -- are readying 75 blocks for auction.
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