Bhubaneswar: TV Narendran, chief executive and managing director of Tata SteelNSE -8.28 %, has decided to step down as president of the Indian Steel Association (ISA). When contacted, Bhaskar Chatterjee, secretary general of ISA, confirmed the development.
Industry players speaking to ET on condition of anonymity linked the development to the ongoing battle over mineral resources between old players such as Tata Steel who have always had captive iron ore leases and newer entrants offering huge premiums for mining rights.
An email sent to Narendran on Sunday went unanswered.
India is transitioning from a regime where mineral allocations were made on first-come-first-serve basis to one where mining rights are granted only through competitive bidding. It has opened up opportunities for some – JSW Steel successfully bid for half a dozen new mines in Odisha earlier this year – but left others bitter.
The 2015 amendment to the MMDR, for example, rendered null, South Korean steelmaker Posco’s claim to an iron ore deposit. The company immediately pulled out from its greenfield project in Odisha. It also tied the fate of Goa’s iron ore mines into a such knot that neither the state nor Centre have been able to find a solution after five years.
The Odisha government’s first attempt at auctioning mines in April 2018 had to be shelved after JSW Steel challenged Tata Steel’s participation in the High Court of Delhi, on grounds that the latter already held mining rights to area beyond the permissible limit. Odisha waited for 20 months, and for the Centre to increase this cap from 10 sq km to 58 sq km, before putting up iron ore mines for bidding again.