Open up coal mining

Genuine competition needed on the path to self-sufficiency

Two years ago, the government had announced that India does not need any imported coal and instructed states as well as NTPC to stop imports. However, the latest figures given by the government to the Rajya Sabha show that coal imports have grown 15 per cent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Reports show that states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, along with NTPC and some private units in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, have issued tenders totalling 12.5 million tonnes. This has happened because India’s domestic output has not been able to keep