Coal and Mines Minister Prahlad Joshi on Saturday said that the ministries under him are taking all possible measures to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of auctioning 500 coal and other minerals blocks in the country.

Speaking at an investor conclave on commercial coal mines auction in Bengaluru, the Minister pointed out that despite India having one of the largest coal reserves and being large-scale producer and importer of the commodity, the country needs to step up output to meet growing energy demand.

Joshi exuded confidence that the country will produce 900 million tonnes (mt) of coal in FY23 and will hit 1 billion tonnes in FY24, Coal Ministry said in a statement.

He also pointed out that at present the coal and mines sector contributes 0.9 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is targeted to be raised to 2.5 per cent in the coming years. 

Mineral block auction

During the conclave, Additional Secretary in Mines Ministry Sanjay Lohiya informed that post the reforms in the minerals sector in March 2021, the pace of exploration has increased.

Since March 2021, 108 mineral blocks have been auctioned as compared to 108 auctioned in 6 years from 2015 to 2021. Further, an auction of 70 blocks is under process in the country. Besides, Geological Survey of India (GSI) has handed over over 200 explored blocks to state governments for auction. As such, more than 400 blocks are ready for auction in the country.

Coal mines auction

Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena pointed out that the requirement of various sectors in the country depends heavily on power and for that coal needs to be commercially explored. He reiterated the commitment of the Ministry in supporting the coal industry.

The Ministry plans to conduct a series of investors’ conclaves at several locations across the country. It has already organised such conclaves in Indore and Mumbai receiving good participation from the prospective bidders, indicating enthusiasm in the ongoing commercial coal mines auction.

The centre has launched India’s largest coal mine auction, under which around 141 mines are slated to go under the hammer. So far, the Ministry has concluded five tranches of commercial coal mines auctions and has successfully allocated 64 coal mines.

Of this, around 28 mines have got the vesting order and two mines in Jharkhand have begun production with a cumulative output of more than 2.5 mt as of October 2022.

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