New Delhi: Union Minister for Coal G Kishan Reddy launched the 11th round of commercial coal mine auctions on Thursday with a total of 27 coal blocks on offer at New Delhi. These 27 coal blocks are spread across the states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh and include both fully explored and partially explored mines, including one coking coal mine.
Addressing the gathering, Reddy, emphasised that coal remains the cornerstone of India’s energy landscape, asserting that power generation is unimaginable without it. "For India’s growing economy, manufacturing sector, coal is the most important factor. Even today, over 70 percent of electricity generated in India comes from thermal sources. Coal is also required by steel, cement and other sectors for their processes.
The minister stressed on the role played by commercial coal mines in meeting India's growing demand for coal and energy security. "To meet the growing electricity demand, it is government’s policy to increase the production of domestic coal and reduce imports. If you want power, then you need coal first. So we should strive to increase coal production first. Commercial coal mines play an important role in domestic coal production. Through commercial coal mines, private sector investment in coal mining will rise and so will employment. Plus, coal-bearing states stand to gain socially and economically," he said.
"For this financial year, we are targeting 1,080 MT of coal production. We are expecting captive and commercial coal mines to produce around 170 MT of coal. To strengthen our energy security and to become Atmanirbhar in this sector, and to make India an economically strong nation, government PSUs and private sector players need to work together towards achieving these goals," he said. He also urged coal producers to speed up production, assuring them of all support from the government in getting clearances and in resolving issues pertaining to land acqusition. "Commercial coal mines should start operations soon and contribute towards India’s energy independence," said the minister.
Addressing stakeholders, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt stressed on the role coal plays in India's energy security. "Coal is the bedrock of our energy security and it will continue to be the mainstay of our energy security for the times to come," he said.
Referring to the policy changes brought in by the current regime, he said, "Private sector synergies have brought in a momentum which was unthinkable when the policy reform bandwagon had started rolling."
"As we stand today, under the 10 rounds of commercial coal mine auctions, 113 coal mines have been auctioned with a PRC of 257.60 MT. It is encouraging for us to see that these 113 mines shall be generating an annual revenue of Rs 35,500-odd crores for the state governments. And they shall be providing direct and indirect employment to almost 3.5 lakh people," said Additional Coal Secretary Rupinder Brar.
"It is encouraging to see in the last few years that the final offers that have come for the bids range from 5 percent to as high as a whopping 288.25 percent. Some of the mines have fetched that kind of premium. And again, we want to thank the industry for coming forward with so much enthusiasm," she said.
"I want to thank all our private partners. You are doing a fantastic job. And there is already a reduction being witnessed in the percentage of coal requirement that was being met through imports," said Brar, who is also the nominated authority for commercial coal mine auctions.
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