Author: Paul Ploumis   27 Apr 2015 Last updated at 09:03:17 GMT

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster): The country’s total gold production during the previous fiscal year from April 2014 to March 2015 dropped nearly 8% when compared with the previous fiscal year. India’s FY ’15 gold production totaled 1.43 tonne, as compared with 1.56 tonnes production recorded during the 2013-14 fiscal year.

In a written reply to the Parliament, Vishnu Deo Sai, Minister of State for Steel and Mines stated that gold production from currently active gold mines in the country totaled 1.43 tonnes during FY ’15. This includes the reported output from Hutti Gold Mines Co in Karnataka and Manmohan Industries in Jharkhand.

The Minister of State also said that various efforts are on to increase the country’s mined gold output. The construction works of second phase mining at Hutti Gold Mines are already underway. The second phase of mine development activities are in progress at the Hira-Buddini and Uti gold mines, he added.

Meantime, the country has continued to depend on imported gold to meets its domestic demand. The gold imports by weight have risen sharply by almost 48% from 638 tonnes in FY 14 to 945 tonnes in FY 15. However, gold imports by value have not risen correspondingly, due to falling gold prices.

According to the Mineral Exploration and Development Forecast Report released by the Ministry of Mines, the country currently has a gold reserve-base of 659 tonnes. Around four private mining companies are awaiting government clearance to start gold exploration activities. With increased private sector participation in gold mines, India’s domestic gold production is expected to increase manifold over the coming years.