 "Target of 1.5 billion tonne coal requires Rs 10 lakh cr investment")
India will need huge investments adding up to more than Rs 10 lakh crore in coal mining and its allied sectors like power, steel, cement, infrastructure for logistics, and coal washeries to achieve the government’s target of 1.5 billion target of coal production by 2020, says a PwC study released today.
Despite being world third largest coal producer, India is dependent on imports to meet around 20–25% of its coal demand, primarily that of coking coal.
The Government would need to take steps to promote smooth land acquisition, easy availability of water, augment infrastructure for logistics, develop coal washeries, capacity building and skill development, etc., to provide the support system for developing a cohesive environment for achieving the coal production target, the study said. Additionally, strong and focused efforts are required from all stakeholders, especially governments, industry players, investors, funding agencies, and infrastructure developers.
The report brought out by PwC and Indian Chamber of Commerce is titled 'Bridging the gap: Increasing coal production and sector augmentation’, which was launched at the 8th Coal India Summit in New Delhi.
With the economy poised to grow at the rate of 8–10% per annum, energy requirements will also rise at a substantial level and coal will continue to remain the key contributor, the report said. Coal demand in the country is expected to be in the range of 1.2-1.5 billion tonne (BT) by FY20.
As per the report, India has more than 300 BT of coal reserves, out of which around 90% are non-coking coal reserves; but despite this, non-coking coal accounts for nearly 75–80% of the Indian coal imports.