Lok Sabha Question No. 4286 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Energy Security by Domestic  Coal Reserves
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4286

TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025

## Energy Security by Domestic Coal Reserves

## 4286.   Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne: Smt. Bharti Pardhi:

Will the Minister of Coal be pleased to state:

- (a) the extent to which domestic coal reserves contribute to the country's energy security and self-reliance;
- (b) whether the existing coal reserves of the country are being effectively utilised and if so, the technologies being used to enhance extraction and processing efficiency;
- (c) the manner in which the Government is working to increase coal production from domestic coal reserves along with the success achieved so far in this regard;
- (d) the extent to which India has reduced its dependence on coal imports along with the further steps needed to reduce it further; and
- (e)  the  environmental  consequences  of  extraction  and  use  of  coal  reserves  along  with  the manner in which these are being mitigated?

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

- (a): India has sufficient domestic coal reserves to contribute to the country's energy security and it accounts for 55% of the country's energy needs. According to the Geological Survey of India (GSI), as on 01.04.2024, the coal and lignite resources of the country are 389.42 Billion Tonnes and 47.29 Billion tonnes respectively.
- (b):   The  existing  coal  reserves  of  the  country  are  being  effectively  utilised.  To  enhance extraction  and  processing  efficiency,  Coal  companies  have  introduced  mass  production technologies  with  minimal  manual  intervention  to  boost  productivity,  reduce  costs,  and enhance  safety.  Continuous  Miners  (CMs)  in  underground  mines  and  Surface  Miners  in opencast  mines  are  also  deployed  for  coal-cutting  and  large  sized  Heavy  Earth  Moving Machinery (HEMM) for overburden removal.
- (c): The focus of the Government is on increasing the domestic production of coal to meet the energy requirement of the country. The country has witnessed highest highest-ever coal production in the year 2023-24. The all-India domestic coal production in the year 20232024 was 997.826 MT in comparison to 893.191 MT in the year 2022-2023 with a growth of about 11.71 %. In the current year 2024-25, the country has produced 929.15 MT (provisional) of coal (up to February 2025) in comparison to 881.16 MT in the corresponding period of the last year 2023-24 with a growth rate of 5.45%.

The steps taken by the Government to increase the coal production in the country to ensure energy security are as under:

- i. Regular reviews by the 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, a rebate of 50 % on final offer has been allowed for the quantity  of  coal  produced  earlier  than  the  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:

Coal companies have adopted several measures to increase coal production. Introduction of Mass Production Technologies (MPT) in underground mines, mainly with Continuous Miners (CMs),  wherever  feasible,  and  Highwall  Miners   (HW).  In  its  Opencast  (OC)  mines,  the introduction  of   State-of-the-Art  technology  in  its  high-capacity  Excavators,  Dumpers,  and Surface  Miners  and  developing  infrastructure  for  evacuation  of  coal  like  Coal  Handling Plants (CHPs), Crushers, Mobile Crushers, Pre-weigh-bins etc.

(d): As per the current import policy, coal is kept under open general Licence (OGL) and consumers are free to import coal from the source of their choice as per their contractual prices on payment of applicable duty.

The  details  of  the  coal  imported  during  the  last  two  years  and  the  current  year  (till December 2024) are as under:

| Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   | Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   | Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   | Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   | Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   | Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   | Import of Coal (Quantity in Million Tonne &Value in Million Rs.)   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                    | Coking Coal                                                        | Coking Coal                                                        | Non Coking Coal                                                    | Non Coking Coal                                                    | Total Coal                                                         | Total Coal                                                         |
|                                                                    | Quantity                                                           | Value Rs.                                                          | Quantity                                                           | Value Rs.                                                          | Quantity                                                           | Value Rs.                                                          |
| 2022-23                                                            | 56.05                                                              | 1538399.74                                                         | 181.62                                                             | 2297444.02                                                         | 237.67                                                             | 3835843.76                                                         |
| 2023-24                                                            | 58.81                                                              | 1330003.62                                                         | 205.72                                                             | 1772150.89                                                         | 264.53                                                             | 3102154.51                                                         |
| 2023-24-Dec-23                                                     | 44.39                                                              | 974011.49                                                          | 155.80                                                             | 1363711.82                                                         | 200.19                                                             | 2337723.31                                                         |
| 2024-25-Dec-24                                                     | 42.75                                                              | 798179.53                                                          | 140.67                                                             | 1116387.09                                                         | 183.42                                                             | 1914566.62                                                         |
| Growth%                                                            | -3.68                                                              | -18.05                                                             | -9.72                                                              | -18.14                                                             | -8.38                                                              | -18.10                                                             |

The steps taken by the Government to substitute coal imports are as under:

- i. Enhanced domestic coal production

- ii. Launch of Coking Coal Mission to enhance coking coal supply to the Steel Sector to reduce imports of coking coal.

(e): Coal mining works are a site-specific activity. The environmental impacts are managed and kept within the prescribed standards by planning and implementation of sustainable mining and environmental control measures as per the approved Environment Management Plan.

A detailed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is carried out for each project considering pre and post-mining conditions for preparing Environment Management Plans (EMPs). On the basis of the same, Environment Clearance (EC) is granted. While granting EC, conditions/ mitigation measures are stipulated for implementing the EMPs, which have to be complied with by the project proponents. On obtaining EC, the project proponent also secures Consent to Establish (CTE) - one time and Consent to Operate (CTO) - periodic, under the provisions of Water and Air Acts from the concerned State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB). During the course of the implementation of the project, compliance of the conditions laid in the EC, CTO, etc. is monitored regularly by regulators like MoEF&CC, SPCB etc.

To promote environmental sustainability in Coal mines in the country various sustainable & environmentally friendly initiatives have been taken such as plantation/bio-reclamation, mine water utilization for community use and development of Eco-parks, and adoption of energy efficiency measures.

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