Coal Secretary Addresses Stakeholders On Make In India Initiatives In Mining Equipment Manufacturing At Chennai

Shri Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Coal, addressed the Stakeholders meet on Make in India initiatives for Mining Machineries in Chennai. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Meena emphasized the immense potential for Indian and Overseas manufacturers in India with respect to making of heavy earth moving machineries and underground mining machineries.

Make in India is an initiative by the Government of India to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in India and incentivize dedicated investments into manufacturing. The policy approach was to create a conducive environment for investments, develop a modern and efficient infrastructure, and open up new sectors for foreign capital. The initiative targeted 25 economic sectors for job creation and skill enhancement, and aimed “to transform India into a global design and manufacturing export hub.”

“Make in India” had three stated objectives:

1. To increase the manufacturing sector’s growth rate to 12-14% per annum;
2. To create 100 million additional manufacturing jobs in the economy;
3. To ensure increased manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP.

Secretary Coal, also underscored the pivotal role of the coal industry in supporting the Make in India campaign of Govt. of India. He emphasized the importance of infrastructure development, technological innovation, and investment opportunities within the coal sector in India. He highlighted the collaborative efforts required from both public and private stakeholders to ensure sustainable growth and energy security for the nation.

The Secretary while addressing the representatives of various equipment manufacturers such as BEML, Caterpillar, TATA-Hitachi, Komatsu, L&T, Gainwell and others including major assembly/parts manufacturers encouraged partnerships aimed at fostering innovation and productivity by setting up their manufacturing facilities within the country. He emphasized the need for concerted efforts to leverage cutting-edge technologies and promote Make In India equipment manufacturing required for mining sector.

In order to promote indigenous manufacturing of High Capacity Mining Machineries , MoC had constituted an inter disciplinary committee headed by Director (Technical), CIL comprising of members from Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Heavy Industries, NLCIL, SCCL, NTPC, WBPDCIL and Equipment Manufacturers.

Secretary, Coal informed that following recommendations of the committee have been implemented by Coal India Limited (CIL) :

• Minimum guaranteed availability for High-Capacity equipment reduced to 75% on yearly basis for first two years of operation (in place of existing norms of 85% and three years of operation) in future trial tenders
• Relaxation in the provenness criteria for manufacturing indigenously same model as being operated worldwide.
• Separate trial tenders for hiring of newly developed indigenous Mass Production Technology (MPT) equipment without provenness in UG Mines with relaxation in clauses
• Manufacturers and/or their dealers have been provided the option to participate in Revenue Sharing mode of Mine Development cum Operator (MDO) tenders in Open Cast (OC) Mines.

CIL has still dependence for import of high capacity HEMM like High capacity HEMM like 20 Cubic metres. Rope Shovels, 190T Dumpers, 850 HP Dozers, 550 HP Motor Graders, 10 Cubic metres. Front End Loaders, 460Hp Wheel Dozers.

Average annual import of these High capacity HEMM of Coal India Limited is approximately Rs. 750 Crores for which custom duty has to be paid for about Rs. 250 Crores. Coal India has been placing trial orders to encourage manufactures to develop these equipments in India and results have been encouraging.

The Secretary informed that CIL plans to phase down imports of these equipment gradually over the next few years and make the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat a reality. He said Make In India is not just a campaign started by our PM, but it’s a movement towards a more self-reliant and globally competitive India.