Mumbai 25, 2015: International Copper Association India (ICA India) in association with Hindalco Industries Ltd and Vedanta Ltd organised the prestigious India Copper Forum in Mumbai. The event brought together experts and thought leaders from the ministry and copper fraternity to congregate and deliberate on opportunities and challenges faced by the industry.

Copper today is USD 8 billion industry in India having created 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and growing at a CAGR 5-7% per annum. India has a huge growth potential in copper consumption for the next 20-25 years as the government increases focus on smart cities, rapid urbanization and investments in infrastructure. India is expected to be the 6th largest copper market by 2020 with major consumption sectors being – Electrical, Transport and Telecommunications. It is a strategic sector where copper demands is and will be from smart cities, power, transmission and defence. Total global consumption for copper is 26.7 million MT out of which India contributes 4% of the this total as of 2014. In India we saw the total consumption of copper at 1.16mn tons in 2014. Out of this wire rod copper consumption was at 695KT and tube and strips copper consumption at 433 KT in 2014.

Gracing the occasion by his presence Dr Ajit Ranade, President & Chief Economist, Hindalco Industries Ltd spoke about the overview of the Indian economy and how Copper is a major contributor to it. He said, “Falling oil prices and the depreciating currency have given de facto monetary stimulus to the macro strength and stability of the Indian economy. The GDP growth is consistent, inflationary pressure is lower and fiscal and trade deficit have reduced substantially. Copper is a modern sector with a healthy growth outlook. However, the copper industry is facing trade related issues like inverted duties due to FTAs and withdrawal of export incentives. The government needs to eliminate the bottlenecks and harvest the growth potential of this sector to ensure sustained growth.”

Taking cue from Dr Ranade’s remarks and stressing on the need of adoption of copper Mr Balvender Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, GoI said “Copper industry is vital for the infrastructural growth of the Indian economy. At a time when the economy is steadily growing and also opening-up, there is tremendous scope for growth of copper in the future. In the coming years mining of Copper ore will increase substantially and there will be more scope for copper production in India.”

Mr Ravi Capoor Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GoI added “The global trade architecture is evolving in such a manner that tariff issues relating to trade will become redundant by the next decade. Competition and advancements in technology will demand that the industry performs efficiently and produces only the finest output to survive and succeed. It is time that India addresses the issues and challenges of the inverted duty structures, withdrawal of incentives etc., and unlocks the potential of policy structural changes like liberation and deregulation.”

While the ministry was optimistic about the usage of copper to propel the economy in a positive direction, International Copper Association of India (ICA India) showed equal determination in helping the government realize this dream.

Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, ICA India said, “We are hopeful that the industry and the government will work collaboratively to overcome the current issues and challenges and find new solutions to give fillip to the copper sector. ICA India is honored to facilitate this conversation. We look forward to be a part of this vision and contribute in realizing this dream along with all the stakeholders.”