Vedanta Limited is an Indian multinational mining and natural resources company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is the principal Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a London-founded conglomerate promoted by industrialist Anil Agarwal. The company is engaged in the exploration, extraction and processing of zinc, lead, silver, copper, aluminium, iron ore, oil and gas, and commercial power generation, with operations spread across India, as well as interests in southern Africa and Australia.
Key facts
| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mining and metals; oil and gas; power |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Parent | Vedanta Resources Limited |
| Founder/Promoter | Anil Agarwal |
| Listings | BSE, NSE |
| Major subsidiaries | Hindustan Zinc, Cairn Oil & Gas, Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), Sterlite Copper, Talwandi Sabo Power |
Background
The Vedanta group traces its origins to a scrap-metal trading business established by Anil Agarwal in Mumbai in the 1970s, which expanded into Sterlite Industries, an early private-sector copper smelting and cable manufacturing enterprise in India. Following the listing of the holding company Vedanta Resources on the London Stock Exchange in 2003, the Indian operating businesses were progressively consolidated. In 2012, Sterlite Industries was merged with Sesa Goa, an iron-ore miner with origins in Portuguese Goa, to form Sesa Sterlite, which was renamed Vedanta Limited in 2015.
Operations
Zinc, lead and silver
Vedanta holds a majority stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited, a former public-sector undertaking acquired through disinvestment in 2002. Hindustan Zinc operates mines in Rajasthan, including Rampura Agucha, and is among the world's largest integrated producers of zinc and silver.
Aluminium and power
The company runs aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda in Odisha and operates Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) in Korba, Chhattisgarh, acquired from the Government of India in 2001. Associated thermal power generation is undertaken at Jharsuguda and through Talwandi Sabo Power in Punjab.
Oil and gas
Through Cairn India, acquired from Cairn Energy in 2011 and merged into Vedanta Limited in 2017, the company operates oilfields in the Barmer basin of Rajasthan and offshore blocks on the western and eastern coasts of India.
Iron ore and copper
Vedanta operates iron-ore mines in Goa and Karnataka, and copper smelting and refining facilities. Its Sterlite Copper smelter at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu was ordered closed by the state government in May 2018 following protests over alleged pollution; the matter has since been the subject of prolonged litigation.
Timeline
- 1976 – Anil Agarwal sets up a metal trading firm in Mumbai.
- 1986 – Sterlite Industries incorporated.
- 2001 – Acquires BALCO via strategic disinvestment.
- 2002 – Acquires Hindustan Zinc.
- 2003 – Vedanta Resources lists on the London Stock Exchange.
- 2007 – Acquires Sesa Goa from Mitsui.
- 2011 – Acquires majority stake in Cairn India.
- 2012–13 – Sterlite Industries and Sesa Goa merge to form Sesa Sterlite.
- 2015 – Sesa Sterlite renamed Vedanta Limited.
- 2017 – Cairn India merged into Vedanta Limited.
- 2018 – Sterlite Copper, Tuticorin, ordered shut by Tamil Nadu government.
- 2018 – Vedanta Resources delisted from the London Stock Exchange following a take-private transaction by the promoter family.
Significance
Vedanta Limited is among the largest private-sector natural resources companies in India and a leading domestic producer of zinc, silver, aluminium and crude oil. Its history is closely linked to the post-1991 liberalisation of the Indian economy, particularly the disinvestment of public-sector mining enterprises. The group has also been associated with significant public controversies, including environmental and tribal-rights disputes over the proposed bauxite mining at the Niyamgiri Hills in Odisha, which was rejected by the gram sabhas of the Dongria Kondh community in 2013, and the closure of the Tuticorin copper smelter.
Related topics
- Vedanta Resources
- Anil Agarwal
- Hindustan Zinc
- Cairn India
- Bharat Aluminium Company
- Sterlite Copper
- Mining in India
- Niyamgiri Hills
References
- Wikidata entity: Q3958138
- Vedanta Limited, regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and stock exchange disclosures.