Future of coal in India: smooth transition or bumpy road ahead?

Table of content

Section I: Summary and Key Insights
1. ‘King Coal’ Isn’t Dead, but Future Indian Coal Won’t (And shouldn’t) Look like It Did in the Past
-Rahul Tongia

Section II: Coal Supply in India: From History to Future
2. India’s Coal Industry and CIL in Historical Perspective
-Rohit Chandra

S1. Global Coal: Production, Consumption, and Trade in the Era of Climate Change
-Peter Nicholls and Tarunika Vyas

3. Issues with Existing Coal Market in India: Monopolistic Structure and Implications of the Current Regime
-Partha S. Bhattacharyya

4. Existing and Emerging Challenges of Coal Production: Digging Deep into CIL and SCCL Operations
-Anurag Sehgal

5. Coal Pricing and Allocations in India
-Anurag Sehgal and Rahul Tongia

6. Policy Challenges for India’s Fledgling Coking Coal Sector
-Harsh Sachdev and Anurag Sehgal

7. Coal Mining Technology and Practices in India: Challenges and Prospects
-Raman Srikanth

8. Ease of Doing Business in Indian Coal Mining
-Dipesh Dipu

9. Future of Coal Supply in India: It’s not just about Coal India
-Rahul Tongia

Section III: Ecosystem of Coal: Supply Chain, Use and Demand
10. Bottom-up Scenarios of Coal Requirement by 2030
-Mohd. Sahil Ali

11. RE “versus” Coal: A False Framing when both will be Required
-Rahul Tongia

12. Power and Coal Sectors: A Dysfunctional Intertwining
-Daljit Singh

13. Coal Logistics and Supply Chain in India: The Premier Status of Railways and Coal
-Vivek Sahai and Puneet Kamboj

Section IV: Regulation and Societal links of Coal
14. The Social Contract from Coal to Renewables: Can the Win-Win also have Losers?
-Pallavi Roy

15. Environmental Impact of Coal
-Priyavrat Bhati

16. Pricing Carbon Externality: Context, Theory, Evidence and Lessons for India
-Mohd. Sahil Ali and Rahul Tongia

S2. Managing Corporate Climate Risk in a Fluctuating Policy Scenario
-Damandeep Singh, Gargi Sharma, and Divya Varma

17. Technology Solutions to Cleaner Coal and Power
-Anand B. Rao

Section V: Conclusion
18. Putting it all Together – The Path towards Cleaner and Viable Coal
-Rahul Tongia

Addendum
Coal after COVID-19

Mark Twain observed, “I'm in favour of progress; it's change I don't like.” Coal dominates Indian energy because it’s available domestically and cheap (especially without a carbon tax). If the global focus is on the energy transition, how does India ensure a just transition? Managing winners and losers will be the single largest challenge for India’s energy policy.
Coal is entrenched in a complex ecosystem. In some states, it’s amongst the largest contributors to state budgets. The Indian Railways, India’s largest civilian employer, is afloat because it overcharges coal to offset under-recovery from passengers. Coal India Limited, the public sector miner that produces 85% of domestic coal, is the world’s largest coal miner. But despite enormous reserves, India imports about a quarter of consumption.
On the flip side, coal faces inevitable pressure from renewable energy, which is the cheapest option for new builds. However, there is significant coal-based power capacity already in place, some of which is underutilized, or even stranded.
Low per-capita energy consumption means India must still grow its energy supply. Before India can phase out coal, it must first achieve a plateau of coal. How this happens cost-effectively and with least resistance isn’t just a technical or economic question, it depends on the political economy of coal and its alternatives. Some stakeholders want to kill coal. A wiser option may be to first clean it up, instead of wishing it away.
Across 18 chapters, drawing from leading experts in the field, we examine all aspects of coal’s future in India. We find no easy answers, but attempt to combine the big picture with details, bringing them together to offer a range of policy options.

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