SC Hearing On Karnataka Iron Ore Export Ban Continues Tuesday.

The Supreme Court will continue a hearing of an appeal against a ban on iron ore exports from Karnataka on Tuesday, judges in the court said on Monday. Karnataka, which accounts for a quarter of India's iron ore exports, banned shipments of iron ore from 10 ports and stopped its transport to other ports for exports in July last year. "We will continue the hearing tomorrow," one of the judges said, after turning down a request by the state government for a four-week extension. "We have to take a decision on the iron ore already parked at ports," the judge added, raising expectations of a swift decision in the case. Karnataka had cited a drive against illegal mining and the need to preserve the raw material for local steelmakers for the introduction of the ban. Exporters and miners from the state challenged the ban in Karnataka high court, but lost the case, following which they petitioned the Supreme Court in November. India is the world's third largest supplier of iron ore with most of its approximately 100 million tonnes of the commodity landing in China, which has the world's largest steel industry. India's iron ore exports fell 18.6 percent in February, as the ban on exports by Karnataka continued to cut sales.

Source : ibnlive.in.com