New Delhi: The Ministry of Coal on Tuesday launched the auction process of 40 new coal mines in which 21 new mines are under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015 and 19 are under the Tranche three of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957.


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In an official statement, the ministry stated that the step has been taken following the successful auction of 28 coal mines in the first two tranches and there shall be a total of 88 coal mines on offer at present."


Total geological resources of about 55 billion tonnes of coal are on offer from these 88 mines, of which 57 are fully explored mines and 31 are partially explored mines. There are four coking coal mines on offer," the statement from the Ministry of Coal said.


Addressing the function today, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi stressed that the Ministry of Coal and the Government of India are on a continuous journey to reform the coal sector and unlock values for the nation`s economy under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


Joshi further threw light on the energy consumption pattern of the country and how the demand for power has increased by around 20 per cent compared to pre-Covid times."


India is currently one of the lowest in terms of per capita consumption of power as compared to the developed countries and that the power demand of the country is expected to be doubled by the year 2040 owing to the major steps taken by the Government in connecting the remotest of the places with power and reiterated that the coal will continue to play a major part in the energy mix of the country for next 35-40 years," he said.


He also announced that the rebate of 20 per cent on the final offer on sale or consumption of coal for coal gasification or liquefaction, may be increased.