Govt must shift its focus on revamping Coal India after opening up mines

India has a stated objective of achieving 40 per cent of installed capacity from renewables by 2030

Coal mining and coal-fired thermal power generation together contribute about 10 per cent to India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Indira Gandhi nationalised the coal industry, creating Coal India Limited (CIL) in 1975. Domestic demand-supply gap by 2012 widened to 18-20 per cent of overall coal demand. And then came the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report followed by the Supreme Court verdict in 2014 that overturned the allocation of almost all coal mines allotted after 1993. 

In March 2015, the Narendra Modi- led government enacted the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, containing provisions enabling the government to allocate