Hyderabad: More than 200 million tonnes of coal stock sufficient for 90 days is available in the country, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a promotional campaign organized by the Ministry of Mines regarding the auction of the seventh tranche of important mineral blocks and the exploration license for the second tranche here, he said that the production of one billion tons of coal has been achieved in the country for the second year in a row.
He said, “Today, there is enough coal for 90 days, whether in thermal power plants or in the pits where mining is done. Earlier, we only had enough coal for 21 to 25 days. But today, we have more than 200 million tons of coal, enough for 90 days.”
He said the Center aims to reduce dependence on imports and make the country ‘Atam Nirbhar’ in the mineral sector.
“I would like to say on behalf of the Centre. The government is not working for revenue in the mineral sector. It is taking big steps to make the country shine in the mineral sector,” he said.
Noting that there are a lot of opportunities to extract important minerals in urban mining and coal gasification in the future, he urged the private sector to work with PSUs, state governments and others.
Reddy said there was a possibility of extracting 30-40 per cent of the country’s vital minerals through scrap from urban mining.
He added that the government is preparing an action plan to extract important metals from refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. by collecting scrap from every town.
During the financial year 2025-26, a record 212 mineral blocks were auctioned compared to 364 blocks auctioned in the previous four years combined, taking the total to 684 blocks since the introduction of the auction system in 2015, Union Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said.
In the important metals sector, 22 items were sold at auction during the year. Thus, 71 important mineral blocks have been auctioned so far, including 46 by the Center and 25 by state governments.
He added that the seventh batch of vital and strategic mineral block auctions was launched last March 23, consisting of 19 blocks, 17 complex licenses, and two mining lease contracts.
He further said that the important mineral is the sunrise sector and its importance will increase with each passing year.
He said that over the past few years, the ministry has implemented a series of pioneering reforms aimed at improving transparency, enhancing efficiency and accelerating the pace of operation.
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