By R Chandra Mouli

Do governments at the State and Centre offer solace, relief and support to the public? Yes, during extraordinary situations such as a natural calamity, pandemic, shortage of essentials, or many other challenges that may befall the citizenry. The degree or quantum may vary depending on severity, but the helping hand is evident in times of need. 

Since we are not a Marxist nation, we don’t expect the government to control business and industry, nor do we want their interference. Exceptions, where we expect the government to step in, could be instances wherein the shutdown of an industry affects the progress of the Nation when gainful employment opportunity is lost, an R&D project is slowed down, and when a person or a business unit faces allegations that lead either to imprisonment or closure of the targeted unit. Often, such outcomes result from a strategic manoeuvre by countries not aligned with our ‘live and let live’ policy. 

Three examples to illustrate the above context:

  1. Circa 1966. An Air India aircraft crashed in the Swiss Alps, taking the lives of all 117 passengers, including Homi J. Bhabha, a celebrated physicist. Many years later, as late as 2008, the involvement of a foreign intelligence agency was mentioned in the press. Did the agency play a role in the bomb that exploded in the cargo hold? The truth may never be known, but the Nation’s atomic energy thrust took time to recoup. There was no solace to the family of Bhabha who lost a loved one at the prime of his life.      
  2. Fast forward almost 30 years to the Indian Space Research Organisation, and the case of its scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was taken into custody, imprisoned and later declared innocent. In this case, passage of time helped reopen the investigation and Narayanan’s solace was being relieved of the “spy” tag and being awarded financial compensation for the agony he underwent.
  3. Not just individuals, projects spearheaded by the government suffer similar setbacks. A case in point will be Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station in Tamilnadu – a greenfield plant envisaged in the new millennium and finally commissioned in 2014.  Then Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh said the protests that caused delay were funded by foreign powers. The solace is now experienced by consumers as clean power from the nuclear-powered facility (Gross Generation of 6656 Mega Units in 2023-24).    

All this is in the past you may say and is all well in the present, you may ask. Yes and No. Yes, because the public’s understanding is far greater due to a higher level of awareness of industrialisation, liberalisation, and globalisation. 

Investment by overseas entities in India is welcomed as a robust form of employment generation, and community development and as a contribution to the exchequer of the State in which the project is located. A reason why you have world leaders in domains such as vehicle manufacture, mobile phones, semiconductors and computer components setting up base in India and functioning without a hitch. Industries wherein the product is intangible, such as software development hubs, global data centres and software-as-a-service flourish in India – in urban, semi-urban and rural locations. 

If there is a blot, it is in our manufacturing map, and the significance of this blemish is being forgotten, despite the likely contribution of a specific industry to a collective goal that’s closest to our government – green energy, reduction of carbon emissions and sustainability. The domain I refer to is the production of refined copper. 

For several years, we have been a net importer of the input material, critical for the manufacture of electric vehicles, windmills and solar power panels (copper’s durability and high conductivity make it the material of choice for green transition). 

Let us understand how we arrive at refined copper, which will reveal where India stands in the production and supply chain. As per a report from Mining Technology, there are more than 700 copper mines located globally, of which only eight are in India. The world’s 10 largest mines are in Chile, Peru, Congo, Mexico, Indonesia, Panama and USA.

Copper is first mined as ore from surface or underground mines, crushed in a concentrator with barren rock separated from copper minerals.  The concentration process eliminates much of the valueless material in the ore and separates particles of gold and silver that may form part of the mined ore.  

Also read: The Curious Case of Copper

Now comes the smelting part – an integral part of the production cycle. In a smelter, the concentrate is heated or melted to extract copper as a metal, and in the next stage, copper is refined to increase its grade or purity. It is essential that smelters operate at high temperatures, and the process leads to a high volume of sulphuric acid (arising from sulphur present in the ore). Modern technology ensures the capture of acid as a valuable by-product to produce phosphate fertilizer, lead-acid batteries, domestic and industrial cleaning products, petroleum refining and production of steel and iron.  

Here is the irony: Walking past a software park or a data centre with over 1,000 employees is always a pleasant and acceptable sight. Now switch to the visual of a copper smelter with chimneys, furnaces and trucks moving in and out, and the thought moves to the question of pollution, environmental protection and ecology preservation. 

The idea that the smelter may have zero liquid discharge, and emission within prescribed norms and safety measures in place is easily forgotten when anti-national elements, spurred by foreign forces, plant doubts among the public. The criticality of the unit, employment opportunities and contribution to the community are forgotten, and the fact that the core product – copper – is essential to support green energy initiatives is glossed over. 

What remains is unfounded fear which is further exploited by anti-social elements most likely funded by organisations funded by anti-India groups overseas. That’s the way the cookie crumbled for Sterlite Copper, a smelter in Thoothukudi, Tamilnadu.

A series of agitations, subsequent to the Company’s plan to double its capacity, culminated in the loss of innocent lives due to police firing in May 2018. The smelter since then has been permanently closed – which has made India dependent on copper imports, to continue to achieve the transition to green energy. The events that followed are well known – appeals, judgements in favor and against in the lower courts and tribunals, and finally the upholding of closure in February this year by the Supreme Court. 

Let’s come to solace, or its absence, in this instance. Because the case was sub judice for many years, politicians and bureaucrats remained silent, which is understandable. Now that the matter is out of the ambit of courts, it is time for a free exchange of views, and for the central and state governments to examine the consequential opportunity loss. 

In the district of Thoothukudi in Tamilnadu, where Sterlite Copper is located, several greenfield mainline and ancillary industries are being set up. A Vietnamese company, engaged in electric vehicles manufacturing will invest Rs. 4,000 crore in phases, and this has motivated the Govt. of Tamilnadu to set up a fourth auto cluster in Thoothukudi, following the success of such clusters in Chennai, Hosur and Coimbatore. 

A progressive step, but how much better this would have been if copper for the EV vehicles segment was available within driving distance. Alternative supply sources for refined copper are now located in Gujarat, which means Tamilnadu’s loss translates to Gujarat’s gain. 

While the initiative and impetus by the Tamilnadu State Government in granting swift approvals for setting up new-age manufacturing units are to be welcomed, an eventful past should not be overlooked. At its peak, Sterlite Copper was contributing up to 40% of India’s demand for refined copper. 

Even with the commissioning of Kutch Copper in Gujarat, and the recent granting of environmental clearance to Indo Asia Copper in Gujarat, the demand for the critical metal, in the context of green energy goals, is so high that India will have to continue importing copper in the years to come. 

Since greenfield copper smelters have a long gestation period, here is a brownfield route to rectify the supply imbalance: The leadership of the Govt. of Tamilnadu may consider taking up a review of Sterlite Copper. A committee of experts can be set up to assess environmental threats posed by the smelter and requisite conditions can be imposed in the operation of the facility regarding safety, ecology protection and 24×7 monitoring of emissions. Judicial approval to restart would be required, which can be sought at the appropriate juncture.

On a related note, the Hon’ble Minister for Civil Aviation remarked to the press recently that in the case of private sector airlines, the government will intervene if they face financial difficulties, since the closure of an airline may lead to an increase in airfare. It will be good for the government to remember such an eventuality has played out in the copper sector, wherein the procurement price has doubled in the last five years. 

Going by the aviation example, the Industry Ministry at the Centre and State may together initiate the above-outlined steps toward reopening of the smelter. 

Let it not be a case where for some industries, solace is available in plenty, and for others, the quantum stands at zero.

(The writer is a Communications Consultant, Columnist, and former Journalist. He writes on sustainability, green energy, minerals, metals and rare earths. Views expressed are his own)