Lok Sabha Question No. 2788 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Clean Coal Technology
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Md. Rakibul Hussain

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2788 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## Clean Coal Technology

## 2788. Md. Rakibul Hussain:

## Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  key  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  to  boost  coal  production  in  the country;
- (b) whether India has exported coal to other countries till date and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the main markets for Indian coal;
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to promote the use of clean coal technologies;
- (e) the estimated potential of India's clean coal reserves; and
- (f) the details of the potential of coal bed methane in the country?

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

(a): The key initiatives taken by the Government to boost coal production in the country 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 mine 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.
- iii. Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up operationalization of coal mines.
- iv. Project Management Unit (PMU) for handholding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals/ clearances for early operationalization of coal mines.
- v. Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing basis was launched in 2020. Under commercial  mining  scheme,  rebate  of  50%  on  final  offer  has  been  allowed  for  the quantity of coal that is 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), in its Underground (UG) mines, is adopting new and modern technologies  like  Mass  Production  Technologies  (MPT)  with  the  deployment  of Continuous Miners (CMs), Longwall (LW) and Highwall (HW), wherever feasible. In its  Opencast  (OC)  mines,  CIL  already  has  State-of-the-Art  technology  in  its  highcapacity Excavators and Dumpers. Standardization of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) has been done in opencast mines. Surface Miners have also been deployed in opencast mines for efficient and eco-friendly mining. Digital transformation has been implemented on a pilot scale in 7 of its mega mines.

- 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.

(b): Coal exports by the country during the last three years and the current year (upto May, 2025) are as under:

(Figures in Million Tonne)

| Year                                   |   Coal export quantity |
|----------------------------------------|------------------------|
| 2022-23                                |                  1.166 |
| 2023-24                                |                  1.545 |
| 2024-25 (Provisional)                  |                  1.908 |
| 2025-26 (upto May, 2025) (Provisional) |                  0.328 |

(c): Most  of  the  coal  produced  in  the  country  is  consumed  domestically.  The  major  coal consuming  sectors  in  the  country  are  Power  (including  captive  power  production),  Steel, Cement, Sponge-Iron and Fertilizers.

(d): The  Government  has  taken  the  following  steps  to  promote  the  use  of  clean  coal technologies:

- i. Under commercial mining scheme, 50% rebate in the revenue share for coal used in gasification has been introduced in commercial coal block auctions, provided that at least 10% of the total coal production is used for gasification purposes.
- ii. The  Government  has  created  a  sub-sector  'Production  of  Syn-Gas  leading  to  coal gasification'  under  the  Non-Regulated  Sector  linkage  auctions  to  support  coal gasification initiative. Considering the clean coal initiatives, floor price of the linkage auctions for this sub-sector is kept as Run of Mine (ROM) Price of the Regulated sector and applicable to the coal gasification projects commissioning within a period of seven years.
- iii. For promoting coal gasification in the country, seven projects (three for joint venture of PSUs and four in private sector) have been approved by the Government as part of ₹8500 crore financial incentive scheme to provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
- iv. Government  of  India  has  notified  Underground  Coal  Gasification  (UCG)  Policy  in September, 2016 to enable the development of UCG so as to maximize the utilization of difficult to mine coal and lignite resources and promote Clean Coal Technologies.
- v. Government of India had formulated Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Policy in 1997 for development  of  CBM.  As  per  the  policy,  Ministry  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas became the administrative Ministry and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) was made the nodal agency for development of CBM in the country. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in consultation with Ministry of Coal, has identified and offered CBM blocks from coal bearing areas. In partial modification of CBM Policy, 1997, vide notification dated 08.05.2018, Government of India granted the exploration and  exploitation  rights  of  CBM  to  Coal  India  Limited  and  its  subsidiaries  in  coal bearing areas for which they possess coal mining rights.
- vi. Government is also promoting beneficiation of coking coal in the country by setting up of coal washeries.

(e) : There is no specific concept to estimate Clean Coal Reserve. However, as per the 'Indian Coal and Lignite Resources - 2024' published by Geological Survey of India (GSI), the total estimated coal resource in the country as on 01.04.2024, is 3,89,421.34 Million Tonnes.

(f): As per Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the estimated Coal Bed Methane resources in the Country as on 31.03.2024 is about 2,600 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM).