Commercial mining of coal to create employment: JSPL
In a statement, its Chairman Naveen Jindal said the reforms will help make the domestic steel and mines sector more competitive resulting in the creation of employment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, a move that opens India's coal sector for private players, and termed it a major step in the direction of India achieving self-reliance.
Launching the auction of blocks for commercial mining, which is expected to garner Rs 33,000 crore of capital investment in the country over the next 5-7 years, the prime minister said India will win the coronavirus war and turn this crisis into an opportunity, and the pandemic will make India self-reliant.
Currently, despite being the world's fourth-largest producer, he said India is the second-largest importer of the dry fuel.
"I thank PM Narendra Modi for taking the coal sector out of decades of lockdown. These reforms will make the sector more competitive and generate large-scale employment," Jindal said.
India has one of the largest reserves of coal in the world, he said adding that its gasification can help our country overcome the perennial shortage of oil, gas, methanol, ammonia and urea, and help reduce imports.
The prime minister's announcement to gasify 100 million tonnes (MT) of coal by 2030 will be a big boost to coal gasification in India and fulfil vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' using clean coal technology, he added.
Jindal further said, "JSPL is the first company in India to build coal gasification plant and the first in the world to produce direct reduced iron (DRI)/steel using swadeshi coal."
JSPL Managing Director V R Sharman had earlier said India has coal reserves for another 300 years and the time is ripe to use the reserve.
Coal can be converted into syngas (synthetic gas), which can be used for producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products, that can reduce dependence on crude oil imports, he said.