The government on Monday asked the domestic coal sector to increase production to reduce the country's dependence on imports.
Speaking at Coal Ministry's Iconic Week Celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Minister of State for Coal, Mines and Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve also noted that sustainable mining needs to be ensured to protect the environment and people living around coal mines.
Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi also attended the event virtually, the coal ministry said in a statement.
In his address, "MoS Raosaheb Patil Danve called upon the coal sector to further enhance production so that import can be reduced and the energy security of the nation can be enhanced. the Minister also underscored the need for fulfilling the social responsibility by coal PSUs and said sustainable mining needs to be ensured to protect the environment and the people living nearby coal mines", it added.
According to official figures, Coal India's total supplies were at 608.15 million tonnes (MT) as of March 4 this fiscal, and the state-owned miner is concentrating to augment its supplies further to touch the 670-million-tonnes offtake mark in the current financial year.
Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain said that due to the new international developments, fuel prices, including coal, are increasing globally.
As of now, Coal India Ltd (CIL) is meeting the lion's share of power sector requirement, the secretary said, adding more explorations are required for coking coal production so that imports can be reduced.
While coal is used as a fuel to generate electricity by power plants, coking coal is used as a raw material to produce steel, and India's 85 per cent requirement of coking coal is met through imports.
