NEW DELHI: Union coal and mines minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday launched the Coal Logistics Plan & Policy for the development of logistics infrastructure for dry fuel in the country. “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,” Joshi said while unveiling the policy on coal sector.
“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,” the minister said at the policy launch.
The minister further said that the country’s domestic coal production is also estimated to touch the 1-billion tonne production mark by March 31, which will be a historic number. “In 2022-23, India’s total coal output was at 893 million tonnes (MT). 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.