Foreign mining equipment companies say lengthy tendering and approval procedures are deterring them from bidding for Indian contracts causing delays in development of coal blocks, particularly underground mines that hold high and quality coal reserves.
Domestic mining companies like Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company say the equipment providers are unhappy with the Directorate General of Mines Safety that locally inspects equipment that otherwise meet international standards.
Overseas companies are required to get their equipment tested for safety by DGMS once they are selected for an Indian contract. Foreign companies allege that DGMS doesn't have capability to test many advanced technologies that are not available in India.
DGMS director general Mr Satish Puri, however, said the directorate's process was not cumbersome as alleged by the foreign equipment companies and Indian mining companies.
He added that "We ask the foreign equipment makers to get only those equipment tested for which we have some indigenous technology. For others we accept the standards put in place by international agencies. But we are very strict about giving approvals to equipment manufactured in China."
Mr Puri said most private companies were complying with Indian law of getting mine equipment tested by DGMS without any problem.
Hindustan Global Resources, sole representative of Australia's Valley Longwall International for India, said DGMS insists on the Indian testing even if the equipment are certified to highest international standards and deployed at underground coal mines regulated with good safety records.
Mr Amar Bhasin VP of Hindustan Global said that "These equipments are not manufactured in India and the overseas equipment manufacturers are not inclined to being subjected to the cumbersome procedure for getting DGMS clearance wherein individual components of these overseas suppliers equipment are required to be tested in India and that too not in one place, one component in Nagpur, the other in Bangalore and the third in Pune etc."
Mr Bhasin said DGMS seldom expects overseas suppliers to test their equipment in India at a laboratory of competitors like Bharat Earth Movers and divulge confidential information that can cause damage to the foreign companies.
Australia's DMS Group GM Mr Dominic Posavec said DGMS procedures were impacting foreign suppliers' interest for India. He added that "The Indian procedures make business more difficult for us. We invest money on research and development in India and are kept waiting for information. In India, it is difficult to get in touch with right people."
Other countries, including China, do not insist upon such quality checks while importing equipment.
CIL CMD Mr S Narsing Rao said equipment testing was a dilatory process. A senior coal ministry official said they have asked labor ministry that controls of DGMS, for leniency in cases where the equipment meets global standards.
Source - Economic Times
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