GoI to allot six Coal Mines to reduce coal imports

On December 13, 2019, Ministry of Coal initiated the auction process of 27 coal mines. Out of the 27 coal mines, applications were received for 6 mines. It includes mines at Bikram, Brahmapuri, Bhaskarpara, Jagannathpur and Jamkhani.

Highlights

The mines will add 5 metric tonnes of coal per annum. Also, it will generate Rs 15,000 crores of revenue for the state governments. The purpose of these auctions is to reduce the dependence of the coal industry on imported coal. India is currently importing 233.56 million tonnes of coal (2018-19). Coal imports increased by 8.8% as compared to 2017-18.

Government Measures

Government of India is currently planning to decrease dependence of coal and its imports. In order to achieve this, Coal India aims to raise its annual output to 880 million tons by 2024. This will help in reducing imports and eventually stop the country’s energy dependence on coal. This will also aid in India’s plan to expand the economy to 5 trillion USD by 2024.

The Government of India is also using Clean Coal Technology to reduce air pollution caused due to usage of coal.

Clean Coal Technology

Some of the Clean Coal Technology methods that are currently used in the country includes pre-combustion capture, oxy-fuel combustion and post-combustion capture. Pre-combustion capture includes production of heat through gasification of feedstock. In this process, a mix of hydrogen and Carbon dioxide rich gas is produced and the mixture can be separated easily. In Oxy-fuel combustion, fossil fuel such as coal is burnt in recirculated flue gas and oxygen rather than air. This eliminates nitrogen largely.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019