Coal India, the world’s largest coal-producing company, is intensifying efforts to meet the country’s growing energy demands by reopening more than 30 defunct mines and launching up to five new ones on greenfield sites this year. The move underscores India’s continued dependence on coal, even as the government pledges to transition toward cleaner energy sources.
In an interview with the Financial Times, PM Prasad, chair of the state-owned Coal India, said the renewables sector had yet to scale up sufficiently to meet the power needs of the world’s most populous country. “By the time renewable generation and battery storage systems become bigger, better and more efficient, then the share of coal can come down,” Prasad stated.
Prasad confirmed that 32 previously shut mines—deemed uneconomical due to outdated manual methods—are being revived under a revenue-sharing model with private sector partners. Six of these are expected to start producing coal in fiscal year 2025–26. As of now, 27 of the mines have been awarded through tenders, with the remaining five soon to follow.
India, the world’s second-largest coal producer, relies on coal for 74% of its electricity generation. Coal India alone supplies about three-quarters of the national demand from its 310 operating mines. Despite major investments by Indian conglomerates like Tata Group in solar and wind infrastructure, the country’s renewable push remains insufficient. According to energy think-tank Ember, India invested over $13 billion in renewables last year—far below the $68 billion annually required to meet its 2030 target of generating 500 gigawatts from green sources.
Prasad reaffirmed India’s long-term net zero ambitions, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to eliminate carbon emissions by 2070. “We will reach peak coal by 2035, then it will flatten, then it will definitely come down by 2047 and be phased down by 2070,” he said.
Coal India is also preparing to open five new opencast mines this year, which are typically more polluting than underground operations. However, Prasad claimed the company follows sustainable mining practices and is investing in solar and wind energy to diversify its portfolio.
India’s coal output reached a record 1 billion tonnes in the fiscal year 2024–25—a milestone hailed by Mining Minister G. Kishan Reddy in March. Coal India produced 781 million tonnes last year, and Prasad forecasts the company will surpass 1 billion tonnes by 2029. The government anticipates domestic coal output will grow by 6–7% annually, reaching 1.5 billion tonnes by 2030.
Despite international calls for a faster phase-out of coal, India continues to assert that the fuel remains “crucial” to its development, especially as it aspires to become a global manufacturing hub. As Rohit Chandra, a coal expert at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, told the Financial Times, “India will have to mine coal for the coming decades, and Coal India is the only company which can do this at scale.”
