India's Coal Sector Is Stepping Up To Fuel Our Economic Expansion

Reforms in this field have placed the country in a position to make optimal use of an energy resource we cannot do without

- G. KISHAN REDDY

This month, as India's conflict with Pakistan was peaking, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved revisions to the country's Shakti Policy. These were part of a set of coal sector reforms that aim to transparently allocate coal to thermal power plants, while simplifying the processes around it.

This comes on the back of India's double achievement of surpassing 1 billion tonnes in coal production and despatch in 2024-25, a testament to the hard work of about 500,000 workers directly involved in mining, apart from several more who indirectly contribute to the sector.

India's journey to 1 billion tonnes is by no means an overnight transformation, but a result of a decade of deep reforms. In 2014, the coal sector was in complete disarray. There was a severe deficit in coal production, given its dramatically rising demand.

Coal and lignite production saw a modest increase from 566 million tonnes in 2009-10 to 610 million tonnes in 2013-14. A cumulative annual growth rate of 1.89% was far from sufficient for our needs as a fast-growing economy. This was being pegged as one of the biggest challenges for the newly elected Narendra Modi government.

The Supreme Court's cancellation of 204 coal blocks in 2015 gave the government an opportunity to seek transformational changes. The introduction of commercial coal mining followed in 2020, marking a new era of transparency and competition.

Ten years down the line, till March 2025, about 150 coal mines have been auctioned. As for commercial coal mining, 11 auction rounds have been completed since June 2020 and the 12th round is in progress.