Coal India confident of taking on private competition: Chairman Pramod Agarwal

Kolkata: Coal India is confident of taking on private competition, chairman Pramod Agarwal said on Thursday, adding that there is no need for “undue worry”.
The comment comes even as trade unions continue to oppose opening up of the commercial mining sector.

Agarwal said there was no proposals to give away any of the company’s blocks for commercial mining.

“The company has sufficient blocks with abundant resource capacity to continue as a commercially viable entity even in the competition era... there is no cause for concern,” he said in a statement.

Unions are strongly opposing competition since they feel it will adversely affect Coal India. They also fear the Centre may handover partially explored Coal India blocks to private players.

“Key issues, which will help improve and stay ahead of competition, include uniform quality of coal, cost efficiency in production and reliable timely delivery schedule,” Agrawal said. “Introduction of higher degree of mechanised mining and increased supplies are other focus points.”

A company executive said on condition of anonymity, “Commercial mining complements our efforts in increasing country's coal output, but it may not be viewed as competition to CIL. It would not unsettle us”.

Coal India said it holds 447 coal blocks, mostly explored, under its disposal. In addition, 16 blocks were recently allocated to the company. Combined confirmed resource of these 463 blocks is close to 170 billion tonnes (BT) while total peak production capacity of the recently allotted deposits is 264 million tonnes per annum.

According to the statement, Coal India is increasing internal operational efficiency. Synergising efforts with concerned state and central bodies for sorting out issues in stepping up output and supplies is a more critical concern for the company.

Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd, its in-house consultancy arm with over 40 years of expertise, is a huge advantage to Coal India in a competitive scenario. It sorts most of Coal India’s mining issues, giving it an edge over competition. A talented pool of multi-disciplinary professionals adds to the edge.

“Commercial miners can step in to fill the gap bridged through imports,” the Coal India executive said. “Their presence does not dent its status. The company is resilient and is capable of expansion.”