'Digital transformation may boost Indian mining and metals competitiveness by 15 per cent'

New Delhi, Aug 28 Indian mining and metals companies can achieve efficiency improvements of 10-15 per cent through digitalisation and automation — gains equivalent to those previously sought through import safeguard duties, experts said on Thursday.

The productivity increases, which industry leaders say can pay for themselves within two years, come as India's mining and metals sector faces mounting pressure to compete globally while meeting stricter environmental standards ahead of the European Union's implementation of the carbon border adjustment mechanism, industry executives said at the FICCI's second Conference of Automation, Digitalisation & Technology Integration in Mining and Metals.

Digital transformation represented a critical competitive lever rather than an optional upgrade.

"With intelligent use of technology, industries can achieve efficiency improvements of 10-15 per cent — equivalent to the gains once sought through safeguard duties," Rodic Digital and Advisory MD and former Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha, said at the conference launching the FICCI-Crisil report.

According to the report, a growing demand for coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, and critical minerals, including lithium, copper, cobalt, and nickel, is driven by infrastructure expansion and the global energy transition.

The report also highlighted the challenges, including resource depletion, environmental pressures, and price volatility, that require urgent technological intervention.

India's steel demand is projected to nearly double by 2030, according to Jindal Steel's Director of Strategy and External Relations, Sanjay Singh, who is also a former Secretary of the Steel Ministry.

Tata Steel executive in charge and FICCI's Mining Committee Co-Chair, Pankaj Satija, held that technology must connect people, assets and processes whilst expanding beyond operations to environmental monitoring.

"Continuous evolution in technology adoption and workforce training is vital," he added.

The FICCI-Crisil report underscores that India's mining and metals sector stands at a critical juncture, where embracing digital innovation could unlock substantial productivity gains and environmental improvements while addressing longstanding operational challenges that have constrained growth potential.

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