The domestic production of coal in the country would see new highs in the current year as the reforms in the sector were yielding good results, said the Coal Minister
Nagpur: Highlighting the efforts of the Central Government to minimise the country’s dependency on others, Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that India would completely stop import of thermal coal by 2024-25. He said that the domestic production of coal in the country would see new highs in the current year as the reforms in the sector were yielding good results.
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Monday 03 Feb. 2025
Joshi was speaking at the inaugural session of the three-conference-cum-exhibition related to mines, minerals and metals -‘MINCON2022’ being held in Nagpur. The Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VED), MM Activ and Maharashtra State Mining Corporation (MSMC) are jointly conducting the event.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari; Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar; Maharashtra Minister for Mines Dadaji Bhuse; Chairman, MSMC Adv Ashish Jaiswal; MP Krupal Tumane; Principal Secretary – Industries Harshadeep Kamble; former Rajya Sabha Member Dr Vikas Mahatme; President of VED Devendra Parekh; former President of VED Shiv Kumar Rao; and Ravi Boratkar of MM Activ were seated on dais.
Joshi further said that with operationalization of various mines under the commercial coal mining auction process, the private sector will have a significant share in domestic coal production and the country’s dependency on imported coal will reduce. Expressing his willingness to accelerate the process of setting up new mines in the State, Joshi invited proposals from the Maharashtra Forest Minister and Minister for Mines and assured all possible support. “We have already given most of the powers to State Governments so that new mines could be opened as soon as possible,” he said.
The Union Coal Minister also said that the country’s coal output in the current financial year is expected to be 900 million tonne which will further go up in coming years as the Government has allotted 47 new commercial coal blocks and auctioned 163 mines.
In his address, Gadkari said, there is a need to identify challenges in the mining sector and resolve them in a time bound manner. “When investors put their money in any project, they wish to make it operational in a scheduled time frame. But unfortunately, we see delays in various projects especially in the coal mining sector. This discourages the investors and affects coal production,” he said, highlighting the need for a corruption-free, transparent and time bound mechanism to attract investors in the sector.
Earlier, Mungantiwar said, the ‘coal and mineral producing’ region of Vidarbha deserves more industries and infrastructure.“Various minerals produced are being transported to other regions for value addition. It is happening despite the fact that value addition can be done in the region. We want the Union Government to attract investors in this area,” he said.
Ashish Jaiswal said, minerals are the strength of Vidarbha but people here are not getting its due benefits. “Apart from this, there is unrest among the coal consumers who are paying heavy price for the commodity,” he added.
Dadaji Bhuse the State government will soon come out with a new mining policy through which the Government will boost projects for value addition of minerals in the proximity of the mining areas. Harshdeep Kamble said, the Government is committed to attract investors in Vidarbha as it has huge mineral reserves.“It will also generate employment opportunities in the region,” he said. Ravi Boratkar gave the introductory remarks while Devendra Parekh welcomed the guests. Shiv Kumar Rao gave a brief idea of the conference while Secretary-VED Varun Vijaywargi proposed the formal vote of thanks.
