On January 11, 2021 Union Home Minister Amit Shah virtually launched ‘Single Window Clearance System’ for coal mines. The platform is expected to ease the process of obtaining clearances for the smooth operationalisation of coal mines. It will help in reducing the time taken to grant approvals in the sector.
i.The Unified platform will reduce the need for companies to approach different for operationalisation of coal mines, which is the main cause for delay.
ii.At Present, around 19 major approval or clearances are required to start a coal mine in the country.
iii.In 2020, India had opened up India’s coal reserves to private-sector development to boost domestic production.
Benefits:
i.The Single Window Clearance System will also boost Transparency & Ease of Doing Business reforms.
ii.Commercial mining will provide financial stimulus to the state and will create around 70, 000 jobs.
iii.It will also reduce the dependency on Coal Imports and will help in meeting the energy demand of emerging sectors.
iv.Coal is also expected to be the biggest contributor towards the Government’s vision of making India a 5 Trillion Dollar Economy by 2024.
India’s Target in Coal Sector:
i.India aims to attain self-sufficiency in the coal sector by 2024.
ii.It has set a target to achieve 1 Billion Tonnes of Coal by 2023-24.
Importance of Coal Sector:
i.Coal is the main source of Electricity Generation in India, it accounts for around two thirds of Domestic Supply.
ii.India is World’s Second Largest Coal Producer & Consumer after China.
iii.It has the 5th largest proven coal reserves in the world, it totals around 106 Billion Tonnes in 2019.
iv.Jharkhand, Odisha & Chhattisgarh are states which contain the largest coal deposits in India.
Recent Related News:
i.On June 18, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the two stage electronic auction of 41 coal blocks for commercial mining through video-conference.
About Ministry of Coal:
Union Minister – Pralhad Joshi
Headquarters – New Delhi
