Integrated infrastructure, coordinated efforts in line with PM Gati Shakti to augment coal production

The commerce and industry ministry on Friday said integrated infrastructure and coordinated efforts in line with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan will help in augmenting coal production in the country.

The issue was discussed during a meeting, organised under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, to review the mission of Coal India Ltd to produce one billion tonnes of coal by 2025-26.

In October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a Rs 100-lakh crore national master plan (NMP) for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy.

Coal remains the primary domestic fuel for India as well as the single largest commodity transported across the country, the ministry said in a statement.

"In line with PM Gati Shakti, the development of integrated infrastructure with coordinated efforts by all infrastructure ministries lies at the heart of further augmentation of coal production and evacuation capacity through multi-modal connectivity," it said.

As discussed in the meeting, rail remains the dominant evacuation mode for coal with an aim to expand its modal share from 64 per cent to 75 per cent by FY 2030.

To cater to the increased coal dispatch in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, 14 railway infrastructure projects are under implementation in line with Gati Shakti principles.

It said that the Ministry of Railways has developed the Freight Operations Information System to monitor the movement of freight trains that also calculates freight and other charges.

A similar facility called the Port Community System (PCS) has been developed by the Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways to provide a platform for secure exchange of information between government agencies, terminal operators and traders.

"Further, with the advent of PM Gati Shakti NMP, the status and type of roads (national highways/state highways/ rural roads/PMGSY roads) depicting the first and last mile connectivity of coal mines shall also be accessible to the Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways to take necessary steps of integration and capacity enhancement," it added.

The plan, it said, will holistically look at the interventions required to be taken for reduction of logistics cost for coal evacuation and thus lead to efficiency gains in the coal sector.

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