Union Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi has assured the country that even during the coming monsoon season there will be no shortage of coal. 

India’s coal sector is fully prepared to meet the enhanced domestic demand of our fast-growing economy, he stated.

Addressing a high-level Conference & Exhibition on the theme “Underground Coal Mining – Way Forward for Sustainable Energy Security”, organized by Coal India Limited (CIL), Ministry of Coal in New Delhi on Tuesday, Shri Pralhad Joshi urged CIL to emerge as coal exporter in the next  2-3 years. 

The Minister complimented Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries for achieving record coal production and said that sustainable mining needs to be ensured while working towards Aatmanirbhar India in the coal sector. Shri Joshi urged to ensure safety in coal mines with utmost priority while focusing on stepped-up production.

Even as the world economy is going through a slowdown, India has emerged as a bright spot as one of the fastest-growing economies globally, the Minister pointed out. Shri Joshi further stated that internationally India’s credibility has increased substantially in recent years and the country has emerged as the world’s factory. 

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 Ministry to enhance commercial coal mining. 87 coal blocks have been successfully auctioned under commercial auction and some of them have already started production, he said. Shri Joshi stated that deliberation on new strategies to enhance coal production from underground mines is a step in the right direction.

After releasing the underground coal mining vision plan of CIL, Shri Joshi gave away “Coal Minister’s Award” for the best-performing subsidiaries of CIL in different categories like safety, production, sustainability, quality and ERP. The Minister also desired that a separate award for innovation may be introduced. Earlier, the Minister inaugurated a special exhibition organized as part of the conference.

In his address, Secretary, the Ministry of Coal Shri Amrit Lal Meena underlined the importance of attracting more private sector firms into coal mining. He said that compared to pre-covid period coal import has come down considerably. Shri Meena complemented the coal warriors for ensuring record production and offtake while ensuring safety. Underground mining needs to be further promoted along with the coking coal mission, the Secretary added. 

Welcoming the participants to the strategically important conference, Shri Pramod Agrawal, CMD Coal India Limited 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.

Addressing the function Shri M Nagaraju, Additional Secretary and Nominated Authority, Ministry of Coal 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.

The objective of the conference is to focus on indigenous technology towards an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat in the coal sector for sustainable coal production. Achievement of these targets can be possible only through the concerted efforts & endeavours of every stakeholder, technology provider, equipment manufacturer, and implementing agency. Therefore, the stakeholders play a very important role in strategizing future mining activities.          

In this background, the conference provided a forum to promote advanced techno-scientific cooperation towards achieving the goal of the country. The Conference became the right platform for the stakeholders to interact on the latest technology, which will benefit Mining Communities as a whole.

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