India is world's 2nd-largest coal producer, consumer: Kishan Reddy

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy stated that India's coal sector now employs 5 lakh people directly and 25 lakh indirectly. He highlighted that reforms have made India the world's 2nd-largest coal producer, ending the era of shortages and scams.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday said nearly 5 lakh people are directly employed in the coal sector, while around 25 lakh people are indirectly employed.

Sharing the achievements of the Coal Ministry, he noted that around 50 lakh individuals are employed in India's mining sector. He further noted India has become the "world's second-largest coal producer and second-largest coal consumer" on the back of multiple reforms aimed at increasing coal production.

Reforms Transform Coal Sector

Talking about the sectoral achievement, he noted: "Over the past 12 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, major reforms have been introduced in the coal and mining sectors."

Stressing that 12 years ago the coal sector was grappling with shortages, corruption and alleged scams, he said coal block allocations frequently dominated headlines and news coverage.

"Twelve years ago, there were coal shortages, coal scams, corruption, and illegal allocation of coal blocks. Almost every day, news reports and breaking news were focused on scams in the coal sector, and such stories frequently dominated front-page headlines," he said.

Highlighting the employment opportunities in the sector, he added, "Today, nearly 5 lakh people are directly employed in the coal sector, while around 25 lakh people are indirectly employed. Across the mining sector, around 50 lakh people are working."

Boosting Production and Ensuring Power Sufficiency

He further noted that due to various reforms aimed at increasing coal production, India has become the world's second-largest coal producer and second-largest coal consumer in the past 10 years.

"In addition, Coal India is today the world's largest coal-producing company. Two coal mines in Chhattisgarh are among the largest coal mining blocks in the world," he said.

The Minister further noted, "around 72-73 per cent of India's power generation comes from coal-based thermal power plants. There is no power shortage anywhere in the country today."

"Earlier, coal shortages often led to power cuts, but now the country has sufficient power to meet its requirements," he added. (ANI)

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