On one hand, the whole world is going through an energy crisis due to geopolitical tension. On the other hand, India is trying to become self-reliant on this front. In the TV9 Bharatvarsha Satta Sammelan Summit 2026, Coal and Mining Minister G Kishan Reddy said that India is currently trying to become self-reliant in the coal and mining sector. He said that before the year 2024, a lot of crisis was being seen in the case of coal. There were many difficulties in block allotment. There were many problems in the mining sector also. The government was being pulled up a lot in the Supreme Court. The allotment made by the previous governments was canceled by the Supreme Court. After assuming power in the country, the allocation of coal blocks is being done with great transparency under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the last 12 years, no allegations have come to light regarding coal block and mining allotment.
The Union Minister said that the government has achieved the target of one billion metric tonne coal production for the second consecutive year. This much coal production has happened for the first time in India. At present the stock of Bharat Coal is 220 tonnes. India has about 85 days' worth of coal in stock. He said that at present 74 percent electricity is produced from coal based thermal power. Therefore, in the present times, power has become very important. People can remain hungry for a day. But we cannot live without electricity for an hour. The special thing is that India currently has 70 years of coal reserve. This means that there is no shortage of kosala in India. That is why Bharat Coal is working on mission mode on gasification. In the coming years, the government and private sector together are going to make huge investments.
While talking about coal gasification in the power conference, the Union Minister said that coal gasification is one of the paths being adopted to overcome the crisis being seen in the energy sector. He said that at present the country is dependent on foreign imports of crude oil, minerals, ethanol, fertilizers, petrochemicals. At present, India has a coal reserve of 400 billion tonnes. This means that India has no shortage of coal for the coming 70 years. In such a situation, the use of coal is very important for the development of the country.
He said that we can make fertilizer from coal gasification. We can produce all types of gases through coal gasification. All types of chemicals can also be developed. Therefore, the Government of India is working on a mission mode on coal gasification. He told that only last month, after independence, the government has auctioned 7 coal blocks for surface gasification in the country. Out of which Bhoomi Pujan of 4 has been done and work has started. He said that Coal India and BHEL together are going to start a coal gasification project worth Rs 25 thousand crores. In the coming years, the government will invest Rs 5 lakh crore on coal gasification, which will be done jointly by the government and the private sector.
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said that coal gasification will be a new sector. In which there will be complete focus on environment and pollution. He said that there are two types of coal gasification. One surface and the other underground. He said that there is more underground coal in India at a depth of more than 300 meters. Therefore, coal gasification is the only route to utilize this coal. For this, the Government of India has imported technology from abroad and BHEL has developed technology for surface gasification. He said that they are going to start the work of underground and surface gasification with the help of technology from countries like Germany. This will be a big game changer for India in the coming days.
Regarding closure of mines, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said that coal mining has been happening in India since the British era. But the mines were never closed scientifically. He said that at present 147 mines are lying like this. An order has been given by the Prime Minister of the country that all the Dickol mines should be closed in a scientific manner. DPR of each mine is being prepared separately. After closing these decol mines, they will be developed for the welfare of the environment and common people. He said that at present the mines where work is going on are being closed scientifically only after the coal and minerals have been extracted.
