a. whether the Government has taken any steps to increase the domestic exploration and production of coal;
b. if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
c. the measures taken by the Government to bridge any gap that exists between demand and supply of coal in India;
d. whether the Government has taken any steps to increase the production of coking coal in India; and
e. if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES
(SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)
(a) to (c): Yes Sir. With a view to increase domestic exploration, Government is implementing Central sector scheme (CSS) for exploration of coal and lignite. The new technology of 2D/ 3D coupled with drilling for exploration coal has been introduced to cover larger area in short span of time. Further, following action has also been taken by Government to enhance the production of coal in the country and to bridge any gap that exists between demand and supply of coal in India :
i. Launch of Commercial Auction: Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing mechanism from 5 coal bearing states (Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh) was launched on 18.06.2020. During this round of auction, 20 coal mines with aggregate peak capacity of 59 MTPA were successfully auctioned. Second Tranche of auction for commercial mining was launched by Ministry of Coal on 25.03.2021. In the second Tranche, a total of 67coal mines/blocks were offered. Further to cater to the demand of the coking coal consumers, 6 coking coal mines have been put on offer. The cumulative PRC for the fully explored mines on offer has been estimated at 150 MTPA.
ii. Concept of Rolling Auction: In order to expedite the process for conducting auction and to carry out more rounds of auction in a year, a mechanism of rolling auctions of coal mines has been planned. Under this mechanism, upon completion of the electronic auction process of a tranche (i.e. approximately 3-4 months from the launch of auction process), the next tranche of auction would be launched for following mines:
(a) Mines where no bid or only single bid was received in the previous tranche of auction (except for those mines where Ministry of Coal decides to go for second attempt of auction)
(b) New mines, if any, identified by Ministry of Coal.
iIi. Engagement of PMU: Project Management Unit (PMU) has been engaged by Ministry of Coal for handholding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals /clearances for early operationalisation of coal mines allocated under CMSP Act, 2015.
iv. Launch of Single Window Clearance: The Union government has launched Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. It is an unified platform that facilitates grant of clearances and approvals required for starting a coal mine in India.
v. The MMDR Act has been amended in March, 2021 which, inter alia, allows all captive mines to sell up to 50% of the minerals produced during the year after meeting the requirement of attached plant.
(d) & (e): The Government has taken following steps to increase the production of coking coal in India:
1. At ministry level Coking Coal Mission, an inter-ministerial committee headed by Additional secretary has been constituted in order to augment the coking Coal Production of the country in the coming years. The Coking coal Production from Coal India Limited alone has been planned to be increased from 38.842 million Tonne in 2020-21 to 105 million Tonne in 2029-30. This is besides coking coal production from TATA Steel , SAIL and other Private allottees (35MT approx).
2. Auction of Coking coal Blocks has been prioritized for augmenting coking coal Production of the country. Some coking coal blocks are already allocated which will come into production in the coming years.
5. Exploration of Coking Coal by Government -Exploration of coking coal blocks has been given top priority by introducing latest technology for faster exploration so that there are enough coking coal Blocks available for extraction of coking coal in the country. .
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