Need to ramp up coal production, become self-reliant: Joshi

India needs to increase domestic coal production in order to fulfil the ever-growing demand for fuel and reduce import dependency, Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Friday.The need for coal is going to be double by 2040 with the rise in electric vehicles and the increased demand for electricity.

India needs to increase domestic coal production to fulfill the ever-growing demand for fuel and reduce import dependency, Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Friday.

''The need for coal is going to double by 2040 with the rise in electric vehicles and the increased demand for electricity. Therefore, we need to ramp up our coal production to meet this growing energy requirement,'' Joshi said at an investors' meeting here.

He said the target of the coal ministry is to minimize the import of thermal coal and to make the country 'Aatmanirbhar' in the sector.

Highlighting the opportunities for the investors present at the session, Joshi said, ''Not long ago, people used to say the need for coal is going to reduce but we are currently witnessing a surge in coal requirements''.

He noted that ''extractable reserve in the closed or abandoned coal mines is around 380 million tonnes, 30-40 million tonne of coal can be easily extracted from these mines''.

The continuation of mining activities will help in increasing coal supply while creating employment opportunities for the locals, he said.

''While we are stressing on developing renewable sources of energy, coal is still going to be one of the major contributors in the energy production,'' he added.

For this purpose, Coal India Ltd (CIL) is planning to offer its 20 closed or abandoned underground coal mines to the private sector to reopen and bring into production on a revenue-sharing model, he said.

''The coal requirement has gone up by more than 43 percent since 2014 to 818 million tonnes till March 2022. It was 570 million tonnes in 2014. This requirement will further grow and is likely to double by 2040.

''The commercial mining will help fulfill the ever-growing demand for fuel in the Indian economy and also help reduce dependency on coal imports. And as our prime minister says our goal is to become self-reliant in coal,'' Joshi added.

He said the government aims to increase domestic coal production to 1.2 billion metric tonnes by FY24. Union Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain, who was present on the occasion, said this is a golden opportunity for investors.

''These closed mines have been operated upon, this means infrastructure is good and ready and the entry barriers and financial barriers are minima,'' he added.

CIL has set coal production and offtake targets of 700 million tonnes each for 2022-23. The company had registered a record coal production at 622.30 million tonnes and record coal offtake at 661.90 million tonnes in the last financial year.

CIL accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal output.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)