Coal sector will create 5 lakh jobs: Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad: Union coal and mines minister G. Kishan Reddy said even though the use of coal in power generation had almost plateaued, thanks to the shift to renewable energy sources, the coal sector would still create five lakh new jobs in the next few years and urged states to focus on skill development and capacity building.

Addressing the 2nd national conference of coal ministers at Konark in Odisha, Kishan Reddy said that the country needed 2 billion tonnes of coal per year, with demand set to peak by 2040. He said that thermal power met around 72 per cent of demand, and coal production has increased by 76 per cent compared to 2014, to reach 997 million tonnes in 2024.

The government has set a target to produce 1.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2030. Domestic coal production is worth around Rs.1.86 lakh crore and the coal sector contributes 2 per cent of the GDP.

Kishan Reddy said the government has started a coal gasification project with Rs.8,500 crore with the target to achieve 100 million tonnes of coal gasification by 2030.

Stating that the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) had funded 329 projects so far to promote mine exploration, Kishan Reddy asked the states to make use of the funds to promote mineral exploration and set up similar trusts.

Kishan Reddy said that the Centre has started a mining surveillance system to check illegal mining with the help of advanced technology to prevent illegal mining and sought the cooperation of states to check it.

The transport bidding of mines has generated Rs.2.69 lakh crore revenue to the states in 2024 in the form of royalty as against Rs.55,636 crore in 2015, he noted. Kishan Reddy expressed hope that the country will shortly emerge as a global leader in critical mineral exploration and informed that the country has been taking part in global bids to get strategic minerals. He said the government has completed bidding of 24 out of 48 critical minerals in the country.