These are difficult times for Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal. The collapse in the commodity prices has hurt the group’s businesses badly so much so that Moody’s Investors Service in March downgraded Vedanta Resources’ corporate family rating to B2 from Ba2, saying the outlook on all ratings is negative. In the nine months to December, Vedanta revenues were down 13% y-o-y to R48,454 crore while the ebitda was 39% lower y-o-y at R11,097 crore. In an interview to Surya Sarathi Ray, Agarwal said prices of iron ore are unlikely to go above $50 per tonne for another couple of years. Excerpts:

Have you heard anything from the government on Balco and Hindustan Zinc?

The government has taken a very bold decision by giving the mandate to disinvestment to NITI Aayog. We will work with them as and when they are ready. If they want us to take over, we are ready with the funds.

What is your view on iron ore prices?

The current price range of $50 per tonne should sustain for another couple of years. I don’t think it will go up much above this in the next two years.

How would you compare this government with the previous one?

This government is better. It has no other agenda except growth.

What are the plans for the Lanjigarh refinery?

Lanjigarh is a world-class refinery, but the capacity utilization of the unit is just 20%. Today, China produces 35 MT aluminium a year and we produce 2.5 MT. India can produce 20 MT aluminium. At the moment, we are importing bauxite and also getting some from other states within India.

You have faced hurdles in Odisha, Goa and Karnataka. Don’t you think you deserve better treatment in your home country?

For sure, the treatment should have been better. But, ours is a developing nation and you have to have tolerance here because the economy is opening up. All the businesses that we are in now used to belong to the public sector. But in the private sector, we were front-runners in all these areas. For me, eradicating poverty from the country and creating jobs are the top priorities. India is importing gold, fertilizer, potash, oil and gas but we have all of this here. There is so much copper in India, but it is being imported.

You have big presence in iron ore sector but there are problems in both Goa and Karnataka…

Currently India produces around 100 MT of iron ore though it has potential to produce 600 MT. If we don’t flout environmental rules, which we are very conscious of, we should be able to produce. A country like Australia has developed because of iron ore and India has a similar geology. But, the industry has been forced to use crutches, thanks to the cap on production and unnecessary taxes. Iron ore has to be a major industry which will cater to the domestic demand and will be in a position to export low-grade ores. The cap must be removed. Unnecessary taxes like Goa Development Fund must be removed. This will help government to generate more revenue and create more employment.

What are your investment plans?

This year, we are consolidating. In the next two years, our investment would be $2 billion, in oil& gas, iron ore and some in zinc.

But, the sector is facing a lot of impediments

We have to look at government’s allocation policy. Now it is changing in favour of a revenue sharing model and that will help. The Budget for the next fiscal is one of the best budgets as far as the agriculture sector is concerned. But, we have to start looking now for the underground resources. The whole world thinks that we are large importers but it is not so. We have everything.

Why is this happening?

The focus was elsewhere. But now there is a strong government with transparent polices and using the best technology. There is no difference between the human body and the mother Earth. Earlier, a small heart surgery used to cause a lot of bloodbath. Now, microscopic surgery can be done without shedding blood. With advanced technology, we can take out gold, oil and gas and this technology is available.

We used to go to Chile, Peru and all these countries were poverty-ridden. But they were able to transform themselves. A lot has happened in these countries because of natural resources. India is now focusing on the same thing.

You have recently got a gold mine. What is the plan with the mine?

We are very excited, but it needs a lot of exploration. We are working on it and I hope, we will get a good amount of gold. The exploration work might take one year. Even though, we have no previous experience in gold mining, mines are mines.

What about exploration?

I would prefer Indian entrepreneurs and youngsters should do the exploration job. Geologists should start companies for exploration. There are so many funds which want to participate in exploration. More and more licenses should be given to geologists and youngsters. Let foreigners also come.