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India to focus on coal production, clean tech: Goyal

India will focus on increasing coal production to achieve energy security as well as on clean technologies such as coal washing, coal bed methane development and underground coal gasification, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Addressing a roundtable on efficient coal mining and clear coal technologies with major Australian companies and Queensland government officials, Goyal highlighted India’s approach towards energy security and mentioned that in view of the proposed enhancement of coal production in the next five years, the country would be focusing on technological development, modernisation, safety improvement and skill development.

In addition to coal mining, there would also be a focus on clean coal technologies, including coal washing, coal bed methane development and underground coal gasification, he said.

An overview of India’s coal sector was presented at the roundtable, highlighting the status and challenges, which was followed by the presentations by CIL and CMPDIL officials, covering the above mentioned areas.

Australian companies presented their capabilities in different areas, highlighting the projects they are engaged in, particularly clean coal technologies (CCTs) ie, coal bed methane (CBM), coal mine methane (CMM), underground coal gasification (UCG), safety improvement, reclamation of mined-out areas etc

The roundtable was attended by officials from the Ministry of Coal, major coal companies in India, namely, CIL, CMPDIL, NTPC etc and major Australian companies such as Glencore, Rio Tinto, Geo Gas, Carbon Energy, E&Y, Ground Probe and Queensland Resources Council as well as government organisations such as Trade and Investment Queensland.