On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the process of auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining, through video conferencing. During the launch, he addressed the nation mentioning that the decision taken is a major step in making India self-sustaining in the power sector under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan announced by him. PM Modi claimed that this step would help India to transform the crisis induced by the coronavirus pandemic into a chance to become self-reliant and lessen its dependence on imports.
The Coal Ministry along with the FICCI is starting the auction process of 41 coal mines under the CM (SP) Act and MMDR Act intending to attain self-reliance in the coal sector.
The Prime Minister assured the citizens that the nation will win the battle against these difficult times and rise again. "The market for coal is now open. It will help all sectors," he said during the conference.
"India will turn this COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity. It has taught India to be self-reliant. India to reduce its dependence on imports. To make India self-reliant in the energy sector, a major step is being taken today," Modi said.
"For decades, the country's coal sector was entangled in a web of captive and non-captive. It was excluded from the competition, and there was a big problem of transparency," he added.
"After 2014, several steps were taken to change this situation. Coal sector got strengthened due to steps taken," he added.
He also mentioned the fact that India being the fourth-largest exporter of coal reserves in the world and also the second-largest producer does not take part in coal exportation, instead it is the world's second-largest importer of coal.
For two days in a row, PM Modi had held virtual meetings with chief ministers of different states where he highlighted on Unlock phase two and discussed on how to accelerate the working of the economy. Modi claimed that the economy is slowly coming back on track.
PM Modi, while addressing the nation said, "We did not manufacture personal protective equipment, made N-95 masks for namesake when the disease first broke out here. Today, we manufacture two lakh PPEs in a day and two lakh N-95 masks in a day. This is because we turned the challenge into an opportunity."
He stated that it is the responsibility of every Indian citizen to make this century the nation's century. "There is only one way to do this - to become self-reliant," he added.
The process launched by the Prime Minister marks the conception of the coal sector in India for commercial mining which is expected to improve development in the industry and help in fulfilling the energy requirements of the nation.
