Coal India Plans to Halt Mining Equipment Imports in Six Years: Government Announcement
On Thursday, the government disclosed that state-owned Coal India Ltd, having imported mining equipment worth ₹3,500 crore in the last five years, has outlined a strategy to eliminate such imports over the next six years. The objective is to promote the development and use of domestically manufactured equipment, the government stated.
The coal ministry released a statement, noting that Coal India Ltd (CIL) currently imports high-capacity equipment, including electric rope shovels, hydraulic shovels, dumpers, crawler dozers, drills, motor graders, front-end loaders wheel dozer, valued at ₹3,500 crore. This incurs additional expenses of ₹1,000 crore in customs duty over the past five years.
To address this issue and boost domestic manufacturing, CIL has developed a plan to gradually phase out imports over the next six years, the statement revealed. It highlighted that high-capacity machines are already being procured from domestic manufacturers.
In an effort to reduce the country’s reliance on imports and support domestic production, the government is actively working to enhance indigenous manufacturing capabilities within the coal mining sector. To achieve this, an interdisciplinary high-level committee, chaired by the Director (Technical) of CIL, was formed. The committee’s purpose is to provide recommendations for strengthening domestic manufacturing of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) and underground mining equipment, including High Wall Miners, standard and low-capacity miners, and associated ancillary equipment.
Considering the anticipated continued significance of coal as a source of energy even beyond 2030, the panel projected a substantial demand for equipment in the country over the next decade, for both opencast and underground mines. The committee, comprising representatives from the Ministries of Heavy Industries and Railways, among other stakeholders, submitted its final report.
Coal India is a major contributor, accounting for over 80% of domestic coal output.
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