Lok Sabha Question No. 3703 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-18
Subject: Shortage of Coal Supply
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †3703 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2024

## Shortage of Coal Supply

†3703. Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is a shortage of coal supply across the country;
- (b) if so, the steps being taken by the Government to meet the demand for coal; and
- (c) whether any measures are being taken to prevent future coal shortage in the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF COAL AND MINES (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a): There is no shortage of coal in the country. The country has witnessed highest ever coal production in the year 2023-24. The all-India coal production during the year 2023-24 was 997.826 Million Tonne (MT).
- (b) & (c): The steps taken by the Government to increase the coal production in the country in order to meet the demand of coal are as under:
- i. Regular reviews by Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks.
- ii. Enactment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 [MMDR Act] 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.
- iii. Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalization of coal mines.
- iv. Project Monitoring Unit for hand-holding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals / clearances for early operationalization of coal mines.
- v. Auction  of  commercial  mining  on  revenue  sharing  basis  launched  in  2020.  Under commercial mining scheme, rebate of 50 % on final offer has been allowed for the quantity of coal produced earlier than scheduled date of production. Further, incentives on coal gasification or liquefaction (rebate of 50 % on final offer) have been granted.
- vi. Terms and conditions of commercial coal mining are very liberal with no restriction on utilization  of  coal,  allowing  new  companies  to  participate  in  the  bidding  process, reduced  upfront  amount,  adjustment  of  upfront  amount  against  monthly  payment, liberal efficiency parameters to encourage flexibility to operationalize the coal mines, transparent bidding process, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route and revenue sharing model based on the National Coal Index.

In addition to the above, coal companies have also taken the following steps to increase domestic coal production:

- i. Coal  India  Limited  (CIL)  has  adopted  a  number  of  measures  to  increase  coal production.  In  its  Underground  (UG)  mines,  CIL  is  adopting  Mass  Production Technologies (MPT), mainly with Continuous Miners (CMs), wherever feasible. CIL has  also  planned  Highwalls  (HW)  mines  in  view  of  the  availability  of  Abandoned/ Discontinued mines. CIL is also planning large capacity UG mines wherever feasible. In its Opencast (OC) mines, CIL already has State-of-the- Art technology in its highcapacity Excavators, Dumpers and Surface Miners.
- ii. Regular liaison is being undertaken by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for grounding of new projects and operation of existing projects. SCCL has initiated action  for  developing  infrastructure  for  evacuation  of  coal  like  Coal  Handling Plants (CHPs), Crushers, Mobile Crushers, Pre-weigh-bins etc.

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