Union Cabinet gives nod for Ordinance to bring FDI in coal mining

The ordinance allows coal mining for any company present in sectors other than steel and power, and dispenses away with the captive end-use criteria.

Despite having the world’s fourth largest coal reserve, India imported 235 million tonnes (mt) of coal last year, of which 135 mt valued at Rs171,000 crore could have been met from domestic reserves, coal and mines minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters.

The move will help India gain access to high-end technology for underground mining used by global miners.

“Under the Ordinance, allocation of coal/lignite blocks for composite prospecting licence cum mining lease has been provided; requirement of previous approval in cases where allocation of blocks was made by Central Govt has been dispensed with. This will speed up the process of implementation of projects, ease of doing business, simplification of procedure and benefit all the parties in areas where minerals are located," a government spokesperson said in a tweet.

In 2018, the NDA government had allowed commercial mining by private entities.

The Centre had set a mining target of 1.5 billion tonnes by 2020.

The Union Cabinet in August last year announced 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route in coal mining for open sale, besides creating associated infrastructure, such as washeries.