Coal Ministry Holds Mining for Future Consultation in Goa

The Ministry of Coal held a day-long stakeholder consultation titled Mining for Future at Panjim in Goa on 30 October 2026. Allottees of captive and commercial coal blocks sat with representatives of state governments, the Central Ground Water Authority, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the environment ministry and senior officials to discuss how allotted blocks can be opened faster, what the next round of reforms should contain and what responsible mining demands. Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt was the chief guest, with Additional Secretary and Nominated Authority Rupinder Brar also present.

The gap the ministry wants closed

Of the 137 commercial mines allotted since 2020, only 25 are producing. The Secretary told allottees that a block which is allotted but idle is capacity the country has set aside and cannot use, and asked them to open mines ahead of the revised timelines, reach peak rated capacity quickly and raise land, forest and state-level problems early rather than late.

Why domestic coal is being pushed

• When the conflict in West Asia disrupted liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas supplies from late February, coal stocks at mines and power stations let the government promise steady power
• The International Energy Agency expects gas markets to stay tight through 2027, and Asian spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas averaged 17.5 US dollars per million British thermal units in the second quarter, 45 per cent above a year earlier
• World coal demand is forecast at a record 8.94 billion tonnes in 2026
• India produced 1,041 million tonnes of coal in 2025-26 and coal still generates more than 70 per cent of the country's electricity
• NITI Aayog sees demand rising from about 1.25 billion tonnes in 2025 to over 2.6 billion tonnes by 2050 on present policies, and above 1.8 billion tonnes even on a net zero path

The reforms so far

The Additional Secretary recalled that the framework of 2020 removed end-use restrictions, linked bidding to a revenue share based on the National Coal Index, dropped technical and financial eligibility conditions and allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment by the automatic route, with concessions for underground mines. Scheduled operationalisation has been cut from 51 to 40 months for fully explored blocks and from 66 to 52 months for partly explored ones. Mining plan approvals now take about four and a half months against nine earlier, mine opening permission is given by the company board, and 44 accredited exploration agencies no longer need a prospecting licence.

What else was discussed

Sessions covered underground coal gasification, artificial intelligence and robotics in mines, ash reduction at the pithead, paste filling, scientific mine closure that turns mined-out land into habitable areas, rehabilitation and resettlement, worker welfare, corporate social responsibility, afforestation, mine safety, groundwater clearance, first mile connectivity and ways to raise coking coal output.