Kolkata, March 20: The two-day 16th Indian Coal Markets Conference organised by mjunction services limited in Kolkata began today on the theme of “Coal Rush: Growing in a Green World”. In keeping with the theme, the conference provided a platform to discuss the simultaneous growth in coal and renewables sectors, and what that would mean for viability of fresh investments in either of these sectors.
MD Mr Vinaya Varma welcomed all the dignitaries and industry leaders during the inaugural session. Mr Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, joined the inaugural session virtually. Mr Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, Coal of India, Mr S. Saha, MD Bhubaneshwar Power Pvt. Ltd. and Mr Ajay Misra, DG, Renewable Energy Society of India also addressed the inaugural session.
In his welcome address, Mr Varma said, “In India, coal is critical for energy security and independence amid geo-political risks related to gas and oil supplies. So, until the energy transition process starts playing out in full, coal will continue to stay much in demand as the most dependable and economical source of energy for India.”
A total of 129 mines have been allocated so far for captive and commercial users. “Around 50 mines have started production. It is estimated that 15 percent of the total coal production will be from captive and commercial mines. During FY23 production of captive and commercial mines stood at 89mt, this year we are expecting 112 mt,” Coal Secretary said while addressing the audience. Coal India Chairman Pramod Agrawal said the company has set a target of 780 million tons for FY24. “This is a stiff target as it would require 80 million tons more coal over 700 million tons expected in FY23,” he said.
The conference was also addressed by Mr V K Arora, Chief Mentor, KCT, Dr B Veera Reddy Director (Technical) and (Director) Finance- Addl. Charge, Coal India Limited (CIL), Mr Tuhin Mukherjee, Group Advisor, Aditya Birla Group and Former MD, Essel Mining, Ritabrata Ghosh, VP, Sector Head, Corporate Sector ratings, ICRA Ltd and Mr DLR Prasad, Adviser- Minerals, Metals and Mining, APMDC.
