The minister said that there is a need to expand coal mining and scale up
evacuation infrastructure as the demand
for coal in electricity generation in India will continue to grow.
“We have launched initiatives like the Coal Logistics Policy, Integrated
Coal Logistics Plan and pioneering First Mile Connectivity projects amidst
rising demand. These efforts aim to create cost-efficient, sustainable, and
resilient logistics infrastructure,” Joshi said at the policy launch.
The country’s domestic coal
production is also estimated to touch 1 billion tonne production mark by March
31 which will be a historic number, Joshi said. In 2022-23, India’s total coal output was at 893 million tonnes.
“We will continue to register growth in production in the coming years
so we need an infrastructure befitting the increase in production,” he said.
The integrated Coal Logistics Plan and Policy has been formulated with a
visionary approach to develop a technologically advanced, integrated,
cost-effective, resilient, sustainable and trusted logistics ecosystem for coal
evacuation.
This strategic framework aims
to accelerate demand and supply within the coal sector by FY 2030.