Coal sector fully prepared to meet growing domestic demand: Pralhad Joshi

Coal contributes to nearly 77 percent of India's power generation. In the post-covid period, India struggled with severe coal shortages as economic activities gained momentum. It was worsened further by high demand in the summer months and disruptions due to waterlogging in the mines during monsoon season.

Addressing a Coal India event in Delhi, where he released CIL’s coal mining vision plan, the minister congratulated the state-run miner and its subsidiaries for achieving record coal production.

Joshi urged CIL to emerge as a coal exporter in the next 2-3 years and underscored the need to focus on sustainable mining.

He asked the coal PSUs to ensure safety in coal mines with utmost priority while focusing on stepped-up production.

He called upon the coal sector to devise suitable action plans to meet the growing energy requirements of the country in the coming years.

The minister appreciated the new initiatives and reforms undertaken by the coal miministry to enhance commercial coal mining.

A total of 87 coal blocks have been successfully auctioned under commercial auction and some of them have already started production, he said.

Deliberation of new strategies to enhance coal production from underground mines is a step in the right direction.

Coal India CMD Pramod Agrawal pointed out that India’s record coal production has paved the way for declining coal prices in the global market.

Limited impact on the environment including the forest cover and superior quality of coal are some of the main advantages of underground mining, he added.

Additional Coal Secretary and Nominated Authority of the ministry M Nagaraju said that by 2035 – 40 India’s coal requirement can go up to two billion tonnes.

The introduction of new technology, attracting the private sector, ensuring sustainability, etc. are important factors while focusing on underground mining, he said.