Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Coal has released the task completion status of Agenda for the year 2021-22 which broadly focused on:
- Coal Sector Reforms;
- Coal Transition and Sustainability;
- Institution Building;
- Futuristic Agenda.
This was a debut Agenda document of the Ministry for 2021-22 which had been brought out as a compilation and provided to all senior officers with the responsibility of steering the four broad focus areas through the year with regular monitoring and appraisals.There were 24 tasks in total, out of which four tasks are being continued in the next year.
The Agenda covered the entire gamut of areas for steering the Coal Sector into new technologies while focussing on the core competence of increasing production targets including moving towards one Billion Ton coal production by 2024.
Coal sector reforms included projects for the financial year 2021-22, Jharia Master Plan, Regulatory Reforms (Exploration), Coal Beneficiation, Safety in coal mines, Coking coal Strategy, Marketing reforms, Coal Pricing Reforms, Reforms in land acquisition, Solar Power Projects, Coal Despatch & Stocking, Coal Export in Neighbouring Countries and Strategy to boost coal production of mines allocated through auction.
At the same time, Coal Transition and Sustainability covered the areas of social aspects of coal transition, monetization of de-coaled land, use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in data mining/drones and Sustainability (towards Net Zero Emissions).
Institution building segment of the above Agenda contained reforms in Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO), upgrading Coal testing lab and staffing quality and training issues.
The Futuristic Agenda including Coal to Chemical: Syn Gas, Hydrogen Gas, Liquid fuels, Chemicals and fertilizers, CIL – diversify its business and explore prospects in sunrise industries electric charging pods, EVs etc. Acquisition and mergers of similar or new business after due diligence, media campaign and close monitoring of CSR activities are continued in Agenda for Ministry of Coal’s for FY 22-23.
