Foreign exchange worth $17.5bn as well as one million jobs are estimated to have been lost as a result of bans on iron ore extraction during the three financial year periods April -March 2010-13.
Ore exports fell from 118Mt in 2011-12 to 18Mt in 2012-13 and are expected to fall to 10Mt this year 2013-14.
Curbs on mining ore were imposed in the three main mining states of Karnataka, Goa and Odisha as a result of environmental damage and illegal mining operations.
The Supreme Court has now permitted a number of mines to restart operations but it could take 2-3 years for these to come back to full production.
Several Indian steel producers have also had to cut production and import ore due to the fall in domestic supplies.
