SKOCH Gold Award 2026 for Coal Ministry SUVIKALP Mine Tool

The Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), which works under the Ministry of Coal, has won the SKOCH Gold Award 2026 for SUVIKALP, a mine repurposing tool it built in-house. The award was conferred on 26 September 2026 in the category Digital Operational Efficiency - Data Driven Decision Making.

What SUVIKALP does

CCO has been working on scientific mine closure and on putting post-mining land back to productive use. SUVIKALP helps stakeholders pick the right repurposing project for a worked-out mine through a structured, data-led process. The tool scores and ranks the options against several technical, environmental, social and economic yardsticks, so the choice rests on evidence rather than on guesswork.

From choice to execution: PRISM

Once a suitable project has been identified, the user moves to PRISM, short for Post-Mining Repurposing Implementation Strategy Model. PRISM sets out how the chosen idea can be carried out. It offers project concepts, implementation approaches, case studies, sample Detailed Project Reports, tender documents and details of agencies already working in similar fields.

The award

The SKOCH Awards are given for excellence in governance, technology, innovation and transformational work that delivers public value, and the recognition for SUVIKALP was national in scope.

SUVIKALP Samvaad webinar series

CCO also runs the SUVIKALP Samvaad Webinar Series, a knowledge-sharing and capacity-building effort meant to improve decisions on mine closure and sustainable repurposing. The national series drew in coal companies, government officials, technical experts and academic institutions, who exchanged workable solutions and models for post-mining land use.

Twelve thematic webinars have been held in the series. The subjects covered the RECLAIM and L.I.V.E.S. frameworks, the SUVIKALP tool itself, setting up a Project Management Unit, community engagement, tourism and destination development, livelihood opportunities, financing mechanisms, new uses for abandoned mine voids, and Indian and foreign experience of mine transition.

Why it matters

The series has pushed coal companies to look past mere regulatory compliance towards restoring the environment, creating livelihoods, developing communities and diversifying local economies. Taken together, the initiatives serve the Ministry of Coal aim of turning closed coal mines into productive assets and supporting sustainable development in the regions around them.