Despite Scandals, Indian Mining Bosses Thrive

“He's the state minister of health," Mr. Reddy said of the man in the grass, who stood up, made a little bow and hurried away.

Mr. Reddy may not be a king, but he does represent a new phenomenon in the political economy of India: He and his brothers are the country's most powerful mining bosses at a time when illegal mining has become a national scandal, amid accusations that billions of dollars of publicly owned minerals have been stolen, often by people holding public office.

For decades, moneyed interests have bankrolled India's political parties, but nouveaux mining magnates like the Reddy brothers have conflated money and politics in far more naked fashion, as the thirst for iron ore in India, and more so in China, has created huge fortunes. Read the full report here.

Source: by Jim Yardley, The New York Times, New York.