Coal ministry readies busy 100-day agenda for Modi 3.0

Coking coal mines to be auctioned via washery route

- ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ

THE FIRST 100-DAY agenda of the Narendra Modi government, if voted to power again, would include operationalising 12 new coal mines, nearexclusive transfer of coking coal blocks to steel companies willing to set up washeries via auction route, sources have told FE. A policy for the critical minerals other than those covered under a recent policy is also in the works, they added.

Additionally, the coal ministry also aims to launch the Request for Proposals for gasification projects announced in FY24 and come upwith a revised production plan for the country's coal mines.

"One of the agenda is to operationalise 12 new (coal) mines with a combined capacity of 58 million tonne of coal," a source said. "We also want to launch RFPs (request for proposals) for coal gasification projects and are going to issue a new policy for minerals."

The Union Cabinet, in January, had approved a multi-pronged scheme to promote coal/lignite gasification projects by state-run and private-sector companies with an outlay of ₹8,500 crore. It also approved two joint venture projects for coal gasification between Coal India & GAIL and Coal India & BHEL, both to be operationalised by 2028-29.