In an effort to make India self-reliant in the energy sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining, via video conference. In his address, PM Modi said for decades, the country’s coal sector was entangled in a web of captive and non-captive and was excluded from the competition. Narendra Modi added that the commercial coal mining auction is an event in challenging times, which will increase transparency in the sector and make the country less reliant on imports. The Prime Minister further said that consumption and demand are rapidly approaching the pre-COVID levels, hence, there cannot be a better time for a new beginning.
India has the fourth-largest coal reserves and the country is the second-largest producer of coal. PM Modi underlined that India will get new resources from today’s step and the states will get higher revenue from coal sector liberalisation.
