- ¨ India is set to witness a major milestone in its mining sector with the launch of the Jonnagiri gold project in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. This will be the country’s first large-scale private gold mine since Independence.
- The project marks an important step towards reducing India’s heavy dependence on imported gold and strengthening the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the mineral sector.
India’s Dependence on
Imported Gold
- ¨ India imports more than 800 tonnes of gold every year, creating continuous pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Domestic production has remained very low for decades.
- The state-run Hutti Gold Mines in Karnataka remains the only major producer, yielding around 1.5 tonnes annually. The closure of the historic Kolar Gold Fields in 2000 created a major gap in large-scale domestic gold mining. This made India heavily dependent on global markets for its gold demand.
