Initiatives for Achieving Self-sufficiency in Coal Production and Supply to Power Sector

There is adequate availability of coal in the country. The country has witnessed highest ever coal production in the year 2022-23.

The all India coal production in the year 2022-23 was 893.19 MT in comparison to 778.21 MT in the year 2021-22. Further, in the current financial year upto Nov. 2023, the country has produced about 591.40 MT of coal as compared to about 524.72 MT during the same period of last year with a growth of about 13%.

The steps taken by the Government to make the country self-sufficient in the production and supply of coal to power plants are as under:

1. Conducting transparent auctions for commercial mining of coal. So far in 7 tranches, 91 coal blocks have been successfully auctioned. Total PRC of these 91 blocks is 231 MT
2. Regular reviews by Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks.
3. Enactment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 for enabling captive mines owners (other than atomic minerals) to sell up to 50% of their annual mineral (including coal) production in the open market after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government on payment of such additional amount.
4. Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalization of coal mines.
5. Project Monitoring Unit for hand-holding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals / clearances for early operationalization of coal mines.
6. Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing basis launched in 2020. Under commercial mining scheme, rebate of 50 % on final offer would be allowed for the quantity of coal produced earlier than scheduled date of production. Also, incentives on coal gasification or liquefaction (rebate of 50 % on final offer) have been granted.
7. Coal India Limited is adopting Mass Production Technologies (MPT) in its Underground (UG) mines, mainly Continuous Miners (CMs), wherever feasible. Coal India Limited has also envisaged working large numbers of Highwalls (HW) mines in view of the availability of Abandoned / Discontinued mines. Coal India Limited is also planning large capacity UG mines wherever feasible.
8. In its Opencast (OC) mines, Coal India Limited already has State-of-the-Art technology in its high capacity Excavators, Dumpers and Surface Miners. Digitization is being tried on pilot scale in 7 of its mega mines and shall be replicated further.
9. SCCL has planned to produce 75 MT by 2023-24 from the present level of 67 MT. Regular liasioning is being undertaken for grounding of new projects. In addition, progress of activities of new projects and operations of existing projects is being regularly monitored.
10. Ministry of Coal is coordinating with Ministry of Railways to enhance coal evacuation & distribution capabilities. At present, 13 Railway lines are being constructed in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways for expansion of coal distribution capabilities, which are at various stages of construction.
11. A total of 67 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) Projects with 885 MT capacity being taken up in 3 phases to achieve capacity of 1 BT mechanized handling of coal. In line with the goal of PM Gati Shakti, the Ministry of Coal has undertaken railway projects costing over Rs. 26000 Cr to develop coal evacuation infrastructure projects.
12. To ensure continuous coal supply to power sector an Inter-Ministerial Sub Group comprising representatives from Ministries of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Railways, CEA, CIL and SCCL meets regularly to take various operational decisions to enhance supply of coal to thermal power plants as well as for meeting any contingent situations relating to Power Sector including to alleviate critical coal stock position in power plants. In addition to this, an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) has been constituted comprising Chairman, Railway Board, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Secretary, Ministry of Power to monitor augmentation of coal supply and power generation capacity.
13. Production from new mines is helping scale up supplies to the industry. From 2008-09 to 2013-14, the CAGR of coal production has been only 2.8%; whereas 2014-15 onwards, CAGR of coal production has been 5.2%. Registering a record coal production in 2022-23, 893.19 MT coal was produced, as a result of opening new mines and this has helped in reducing coal imports. Earlier, around 17555 MW of capacity based on imported coal was installed. Now, no further capacity based on imported coal is planned. Owing to the increase in coal production over the last 9 years, CAGR of coal based generation has been 4.59% from 2014-15 to 2022-23.
14. During the year 2023-24 (upto Sept), the coal imported was 125.21 MT, and around 131.86 MT was imported in the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering a reduction of 5.04%. This has been made possible owing to the Government's efforts to boost domestic coal availability.