Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi Launches Coal Logistics Policy For Infra Development

Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday launched the Coal Logistics Plan & Policy for the development of logistics infrastructure for dry fuel in the country.

The minister said that there is a need to expand coal mining and scale up evacuation infrastructure as the demand for coal in electricity generation in India will continue to grow.

"We have launched initiatives like the Coal Logistics Policy, Integrated Coal Logistics Plan and pioneering First Mile Connectivity projects amidst rising demand. These efforts aim to create cost-efficient, sustainable, and resilient logistics infrastructure," Joshi said at the policy launch.

The country's domestic coal production is also estimated to touch 1 billion tonne production mark by March 31 which will be a historic number, Joshi said. In 2022-23, India's total coal output was at 893 million tonnes.

"We will continue to register growth in production in the coming years so we need an infrastructure befitting the increase in production," he said.

The integrated Coal Logistics Plan and Policy has been formulated with a visionary approach to develop a technologically advanced, integrated, cost-effective, resilient, sustainable and trusted logistics ecosystem for coal evacuation.

This strategic framework aims to accelerate demand and supply within the coal sector by FY 2030.