Panjim (Goa): The Coal Ministry on Friday asked the allottees of new coal mines to start production ahead of the revised timelines and ramp up to peak rated capacity quickly, to help fill the gap in energy supplies amid the disruption in gas supplies due to the continuing conflict in West Asia, news agency IANS reported.
Source: IANS via HI India
Addressing a stakeholder consultation on 'Mining for Future' in Panjim, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said the past eight months had tested the sector. Asking allottees to speed up production from the new coal mines, he said: "A block that is allocated but not producing is capacity the country has set aside and cannot use." The main message of the consultation was that India's next gains in coal production will come not only from allocating new blocks, but even more from bringing already allocated blocks into production.
Source: IANS via HI India
Dutt pointed out that the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects gas markets to stay tight through 2027, and that global coal demand is forecast at a record 8.94 billion tonnes in 2026. NationPress reported that Asian spot LNG averaged $17.5 per MBtu in the second quarter of 2026, about 45 per cent higher than a year earlier, underlining why the government wants coal output ready sooner.
Source: NationPress
India produced 1,041 million tonnes of coal in FY 2025-26, and coal still supplies more than 70 per cent of its electricity, IANS reported. That is why, officials said, coal stockpiles at mines and power plants mattered when the West Asia conflict disrupted LNG and LPG supplies from late February 2026 — the existing stocks allowed the government to maintain a stable electricity supply nationwide, NationPress reported.
Source: NationPress
Additional Secretary Rupinder Brar said the reforms carried out so far had reduced the time taken for operationalisation from 51 to 40 months for fully explored blocks and from 66 to 52 months for partially explored ones. Mining plan approvals now average 4.5 months against 9 months earlier, mine opening permission is granted by the company Board, and 44 accredited exploration agencies no longer need a prospecting licence, IANS reported.
Source: IANS via HI India
The ministry also sought suggestions from stakeholders on policy changes that would speed up operationalisation, clauses in coal mine agreements that need revisiting, and amendments required in Acts and Rules. What happens next will depend on how quickly allottees can turn allocated blocks into producing mines — the gap the Secretary said the country can no longer afford to leave idle.