New Delhi: India's import of bauxite, a raw material used for manufacturing aluminium, has caused a foreign exchange (forex) loss of Rs 390 crore during the April-June period, according to the Indian Industrial Value Chain Collective.
The Indian Industrial Value Chain Collective (IIVCC) represents organisations involved in industrial production and consumption supply chain activities across India. "Indian Industrial Value Chain Collective...today (Tuesday) released data on the (forex) loss resulting from import activities of bauxite.
"For the first quarter of 2021 (April to June 10), this totals to a staggering $51.97 million (Rs 390 crore), which otherwise should have belonged to the people of India, with a significant share going to the participants in the value chain of extraction, transportation, processing and supply of bauxite and its end output," it said in a statement.
Despite India having the fifth-largest bauxite deposit in the world with reserves of over 3.8 billion tonnes, aluminium industries continue to rely on imported bauxite, said Abhay Raj Mishra, member of IIVCC and president of Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal (PRAHAR). He added that it has caused a forex loss of 571 million dollar (about Rs 4,400 crore) in the past six years.