PM Modi holds a meeting to discuss ways to boost Coal & Mining sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a detailed meeting to deliberate the potential economic reforms in the mines & coal sectors to give a boost to the economy in the backdrop of India’s COVID-19 containment efforts. The discussions involved ensuring easy and abundant availability of mineral resources from domestic sources, upscaling exploration, and attracting investment and modern technology to generate large scale employment through transparent and efficient processes.

Auctioning of additional blocks, encouraging wider participation in auctions, increasing the production of mineral resources, reducing the cost of mining and cost of transporting, increasing ease of doing business while also reducing carbon footprint with environmentally sustainable practices also formed important part of the discussions.

The issues related to reforms in auction structure, efficient institutional arrangements, participation of private sector in exploration and mining, making public sector more competitive as well as broad-basing the community development activities through the Mineral Development Fund were also deliberated. Expanding and improving evacuation infrastructure for minerals including use of sea-routes for domestic supplies was also considered.

The aspects related to increasing the efficient and environmentally sound first mile connectivity for coal transport from mines to railway sliding, automatic loading on rail wagons, coal gasification and liquification, coal bed methane exploration, were also discussed for potential reforms.

Modi reviewed the contribution of mines sector in increasing employment opportunities and boosting growth. He laid special focus on improving country's self-reliance in production of minerals and their in-country processing. He added that the mineral sector should benchmark its operations to international standards and suggested preparation of an action plan. He exhorted using modern technologies for efficient mining.

He also directed to aim for reducing delays in obtaining clearances and partnering with states to facilitate increase in private investment to boost the economy. He gave directions to target thermal coal import substitution particularly when a huge coal stock inventory is available in the country this year.