Coal India plans to take coal production to 1 BT by 2023-24

New Delhi: As per the draft report of NITI Aayog, the coal demand is expected to remain in the range of 1,192 – 1,325 million tonnes by 2030. A plan to increase all India coal production to the level of 1 BT by 2023-24 and coal production by Coal India Limited (CIL) to 1 BT by 2024-25 has been prepared. The resultant increase in coal availability will be able to meet the demand of coal to the extent available.

In addition, the following action has also been taken by the Government to further enhance the production of coal in the country.

1. Commercial Auction of coal on revenue share mechanism: Since the launch of the auction of coal mines for commercial mining in June 2020, a total of 4 rounds of auction have been conducted in which total 292 coal mines were offered. In 3 rounds, 42 coal mines have been successfully auctioned. Further, in respect of 4^th round of auction, bids were opened on 02.03.2022 and 2 or more bids have been received in respect of 5 coal mines and 6 coal mines have fetched single bids.
2. Allowed sale of excess coal production: The Ministry of Coal has amended Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 with a view to allowing the sale of coal or lignite, on payment of the additional amount to the State Government, by the lessee of a captive mine up to 50 percent of the total coal or lignite produced in a financial year, after meeting the requirement of the end-use plant linked with the mine. Earlier this year, the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act had been amended to this effect. This is applicable for both the private and public sector captive mines. With this amendment, the Government has paved the way for releasing additional coal in the market by greater utilization of mining capacities of captive coal and lignite blocks, which were being only partly utilized owing to limited production of coal for meeting only their captive needs.

3. Rolling auction: In order to expedite the process for conducting an auction and to carry out more rounds of the auction in a year, a mechanism of rolling auctions of coal mines has been planned. Under this mechanism, upon completion of the electronic auction process of a tranche, the next tranche of the auction would be launched for the following mines:

1. Mines where no bid or only a single bid was received in the previous tranche of auction (except for those mines where the Ministry of Coal decides to go for a second attempt of the auction)
2. New mines, if any, identified by the Ministry of Coal

4. Single Window Clearance: The Union government has launched the Single Window Clearance portal on 11.01.2021 for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. It is a unified platform that facilitates grants of clearances and approvals required for starting a coal mine in India. Now, the complete process shall be facilitated through Single Window Clearance Portal, which will map not only the relevant application formats but also the process flow for grants of approvals or clearances. 
5. Coal India Limited (CIL) has envisaged a coal production programme of one Billion Tonne from CIL mines. CIL has taken the following steps to achieve the target of augmentation of coal production capacity.

1. 15 Projects identified with a Capacity of about 160 MTPA (Million Tonnes per Annum) to be operated by Mine Developer cum Operator mode.
2. Capacity addition through special dispensation in Environment Clearance under clause 7(ii) of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006
3. CIL has taken steps to upgrade the mechanized coal transportation and loading system under the 'First Mile Connectivity' projects.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

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