Piyush Goyal, the newly appointed mines minister, has set himself the target of increasing the mining sector's contribution to India's GDP by 1 percent in the next two to three years.
Speaking to BloombergQuint immediately after assuming office, Goyal said, “If we can grow at about 30-35 percent (in terms of the materials excavated) in next two or three years, we can achieve the target of one percent addition to India's GDP.” The sector currently contributes approximately 2.5 percent to the country's GDP.
Goyal added that he would focus on ensuring transparency and speeding up the auction of mines.
My job would be more to further pursue the auction of these mines of different minerals, fast track them, make sure they are conducted in an honest and transparent manner.Piyush Goyal, Mines Minister
The Modi government has already announced plans to auction 100 non-coal mines for exploration over the coming year.
Goyal replaces Narendra Singh Tomar at the mines ministry. Tomar was assigned the rural development ministry in Tuesday's cabinet reshuffle.
Apart from the independent charge of the mines ministry, Goyal is also responsible for coal, power and renewable energy ministries.
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