Commercial Mining Of Coal Set To Modernize Coal Sector

Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India, today said that commercial mining of coal will be a very important step in modernizing the coal sector in the country. Speaking at a stakeholder consultation on discussion paper of Ministry of Coal for 'Auction of Coal Mines for Sale of Coal', organised by the Ministry in partnership with FICCI, Tiwari said that the coal mining framework will also secure India's long-term economic growth.

Commercial coal mining and its associated competitive pressures will bring in new capabilities that will help all the organizations including the existing and also the prospective ones, he said. Private sector investments for commercial coal mines will also have a significant role to play in realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India a $5 trillion economy.

Tiwari further said that commercial coal mining will help cater to the demand and supply gap of coal, a significant portion of which is currently imported. The Ministry will consider suggestions from stakeholders before finalizing the bidding process. Recently, Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 has been promulgated wherein end-use restrictions of the mining blocks have been removed and there is no barrier of prior experience for participation in the auction.