The Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Coal on Wednesday reviewed the progress of commercial coal mining reforms and discussed measures to enhance private sector participation in the sector.
The meeting, chaired by Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, focused on the theme ‘Commercial Coal Mining Reforms and Leveraging Private Sector Participation’. It was attended by Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt, senior officials from the Ministry and coal public sector undertakings (PSUs), along with members of the Committee.
Addressing the meeting, Reddy said commercial coal mining is among the key reforms introduced under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past 12 years. He said the reforms have made the coal sector more competitive and efficient through a transparent auction process that has encouraged greater competition and private investment.
The Minister informed the Committee that 14 rounds of commercial coal mine auctions have been completed so far, while the 15th round is currently underway. He added that the Ministry is actively engaging with industry bodies and private companies through roadshows and stakeholder consultations to increase awareness and encourage wider participation in commercial coal mining.
Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said captive and commercial coal mines have played a significant role in helping India achieve one billion tonnes of coal production in each of the last two financial years. He noted that these mines contributed around 20 per cent of the country’s total coal production during the previous financial year.
Highlighting the impact of ongoing reforms, Dutt said the time required to operationalise fully explored coal blocks has been reduced from 51 months to 40 months, while the timeline for partially explored blocks has come down from 66 months to 52 months.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Rupinder Brar, made a presentation on commercial coal mining reforms and measures to strengthen private sector participation.
