Latest news with #CentralSectorScheme
Hans India
3 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
NITI Aayog to engage closely with states
New Delhi: The NITI Aayog on Tuesday organised a day's regional workshop to foster structured engagement with states. The workshop held under the State Support Mission (SSM) in Dehradun was organised by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the State Institute for Empowering and Transforming Uttarakhand (SETU) Aayog, which is under the Uttarakhand government. It 'is the first in a series under the Central Sector Scheme to foster structured engagement between NITI Aayog and States/UTs through State Institutions for Transformation (SITs),' NITI Aayog said. The event aimed to bring together States and UTs to share their experience on SSM initiatives and learn from each other. The inaugural session was attended by Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog; Raj Shekhar Joshi, Vice Chairperson, SETU Aayog; Anand Bardhan, Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand; Shatrughna Singh, CEO, SETU Aayog and senior officers from NITI Aayog. They emphasised the crucial role of SITs in the growth of states and steering the state visions. The sessions focussed on the role of SITs in achieving state and national goals and the experts shared key insights on the structure of SITs, guiding principles, and priority areas, highlighting their role in supporting State vision and aligning with national priorities to drive socio-economic transformation. It also featured rich peer-learning with interventions and presentations from senior officers and SIT/planning representatives from Punjab, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh on the status of their SITs, structure and composition, priority areas, etc. Further, the session on data-driven governance highlighted platforms like the NITI for states portal and Viksit Bharat Strategy Room at NITI Aayog for evidence-based decision-making. DG, Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (BIPARD), Gaya, and a senior officer from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie shared practical examples of integrating data governance into training for policymakers.
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
NITI Aayog organised regional workshop on State Support Mission in collaboration with SETU Aayog in Uttarakhand
New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): NITI Aayog organised a regional workshop on State Support Mission (SSM) in collaboration with SETU Aayog held in Uttarakhand, Dehradun, the think tank said in a release on Tuesday. The one-day Regional Workshop was held in Dehradun on Monday. The workshop was organised by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the State Institute for Empowering and Transforming Uttarakhand (SETU) Aayog, Government of Uttarakhand. This regional workshop is the first in a series under the Central Sector Scheme to foster structured engagement between NITI Aayog and States/UTs through State Institutions for Transformation (SITs). The think tank said that the objective of this workshop was to bring together States and UTs to share their experience on SSM initiatives and learn from each other. The workshop saw a session focused on the role of State Institutions for Transformation (SITs) in achieving state and national goals, moderated by Dr R Meenakshi Sundaram, Principal Secretary of Planning, Uttarakhand. Panelists including S Aparna (CEO, GRIT, Gujarat), Alok Kumar (Principal Secretary, Uttar Pradesh), and Dr Sampath Kumar (Development Commissioner, Meghalaya) shared key insights on the structure of SITs, guiding principles, and priority areas, highlighting their role in supporting State vision and aligning with national priorities to drive socio-economic transformation. The second session chaired by Praveen Pardeshi, Chief Economic Advisor to CM of Maharashtra and CEO, Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), featured rich peer-learning with interventions and presentations from senior officers and SIT/Planning representatives from Punjab, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh on the status of their SITs, structure and composition, priority areas, etc. The session on data-driven governance highlighted platforms like the NITI for States Portal and Viksit Bharat Strategy Room at NITI Aayog for evidence-based decision making. DG, Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (BIPARD), Gaya and senior officer from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie shared practical examples of integrating data governance into training for policymakers. The regional workshop addressed critical priorities like Climate Mitigation, Monitoring & Evaluation, State Vision Formulation, Capacity Building, offering States and UTs a platform to reflect on SIT implementation, share key insights, and foster collaboration, the release added. (ANI)
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Coal ministry sets FY26 production target at 1,150 MT; proposes coal trading exchange, policy reforms
New Delhi: The Ministry of Coal has set a coal production target of 1,150.39 million tonnes (MT) for the financial year 2025-26, with Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries contributing 875 MT, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) 72 MT, and captive and other producers 203.39 MT. To further open up the coal market, the ministry has proposed the establishment of a Coal Trading Exchange (CTE) for online trading, clearing, and settlement. Legislative backing is being sought for the exchange through amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. A draft Cabinet note was circulated on March 7, 2025, and public comments have also been invited via the ministry's website. The ministry is also planning to allow coal linkages without a specified end use, requiring changes to the Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) linkage auction policy of 2016. Auctions to NRS sub-sectors under the current policy will continue. In terms of quality assurance, the government will increase the grade conformity of Third Party Sampling beyond the current 80% achieved in FY25. The system, introduced in 2015, ensures quality at the loading end and now covers both power and non-power consumers. Currently, 12 agencies are empanelled for this task. A coal production and dispatch target of 203.4 MT has been set for FY26 from auctioned mines. The government plans to launch three auctions during the year and aims to successfully auction 25 mines. Twelve mines are expected to receive mine opening permissions, while seven may begin production. Amendments to the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, are proposed to implement new guidelines for mining and mine closure plans issued in January 2025. These changes would permit coverage beyond block boundaries and allow minor changes in plans with company board approval. To intensify coal exploration, a drilling target of 10 lakh meters has been set for FY26 under the Central Sector Scheme, NMET, CIL, and private sector. An outlay of ₹750 crore has been approved. Exploration efforts will focus on high GCV and coking coal areas and include revisions to guidelines for forest areas and seismic surveys. The ministry has set a target of producing 42 MT from underground coal mining in FY26. The strategy includes deployment of Continuous Miners, operationalising mines through Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) mode, and introducing revenue share rebates in commercial coal auctions. Land acquisition initiatives for FY26 include operationalising the Coal Land Acquisition and Management Portal (CLAMP), establishing a special tribunal in Talcher, amending the CBA (A&D) Act, 1957, and creating a land database under PM Gati Shakti. Mutation of 80% of CPSU-acquired land is also targeted.
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Govt eyes private sector partnership for coal exploration
New Delhi: The Centre is looking at partnering with private companies to hunt for coal deposits as it sets out to tap its vast reserves of the fossil fuel amid growing power demand. Currently exploration in carried out exclusively by government entities like the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI), Geological Survey of India, Mineral Exploration Corporation (MECL), and state-government agencies. According to the Action Plan for FY26 of the union coal ministry, the government will look at promoting participation of the private sector in coal exploration with state-run entities. A new exploration strategy is in the works as the ongoing scheme to boost exploration of coal is scheduled to end this fiscal. Exploration of coal and lignite is undertaken in two stages—promotional and detailed. The action plan noted that potentially large coal-bearing areas still need to be explored. "New exploration strategy is proposed to be adopted to intensify exploration in the remaining area and complete promotional exploration within 10-15 years. The objective is to saturate entire prognosticated coal bearing area. Government has approved continuation of 'Exploration of Coal and Lignite scheme' under Central Sector Scheme, with a total outlay of ₹ 2,980 crore, for five years, from FY21-22 to FY25-26," it said. The financial outlay (BE) for FY25-26 is ₹ 750 crore. The action plan said that exploration drilling target for FY26 is 1 million metres through central sector schemes, National Mineral Exploration Trust, Coal India Ltd or private sector funding. It also said that the government would look at revising exploration guidelines for forest areas to include 2D and 3D seismic survey. It noted that the government would "promote private sector partnership" and "prioritize exploration in high GCV (Gross Calorific Value) and coking coal bearing areas". Although exploration is open to private companies, they are not present in this space due to entry barriers, land acquisition delays and legal hurdles. Private players are mostly invested in production and commercial operations, that too only after the sector was opened in 2020. Noting that land acquisition delays and legal hurdles have slowed down exploration in coal bearing states like Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the standing committee on coal, mines and mines in a report in March suggested the coal ministry accelerate the use of advanced technologies, enhance engagement with private firms through open-bidding and incentives, and simplify entry barriers for private exploration agencies. "In terms of coal exploration government organizations are adequately placed. Coal exploration is not a very technologically challenging or difficult process, as it is a bulk product, unlike critical mineral. However, if private players come in, more efficiency can be expected with new technological tools," said an industry executive on condition of anonymity. India has the fourth largest reserves of coal and in the past three years it has touched record production levels amid a renewed focus on thermal power. Last fiscal, for the first time India's coal production crossed the 1 billion tonne mark. For FY26, the government has set a target of 1.15 billion tonnes as part of a trajectory to reach an annual capacity of 1.5 billion tonnes by FY30. The private sector is involved in the coal sector as mine developers and operators (MDO) where they operate mines owned by state-run companies under the government's asset monetization plan for public sector undertakings. They are also directly involved in mining through commercial and captive mines. The action plan further said that the ministry plans to operationalize more than 20 new mines with an aggregate of over 80 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) during FY25-26. This is part of the ministry's vision to enable on-demand coal supply capacity to consumers by FY46-47. "The creation of additional coal production capacity is needed to boost coal production as well as replace depleting mines. Accordingly, the ministry has set a target of opening 100 new mines intending to create an addition in coal production capacity of 500 mtpa by FY29-30. 13 mines were operationalized in FY24-25 with capacity 83 mt," it said.
