News Update

The Coal ministry said it has successfully auctioned six coal blocks under the 15th round and the second attempt of the 13th round of commercial coal mine auctions, with the mines together holding geological reserves of about 1,500 million tonnes (mt) and expected to generate nearly ₹2,000 crore in annual revenue once operational.

India has intensified its efforts to enhance domestic coal production and reduce dependence on imported coal through a series of policy reforms, regulatory changes, and administrative initiatives aimed at accelerating mining projects across the country.

Nearly a year after the Centre awarded eight coal gasification projects under a ₹6,233-crore incentive scheme to demonstrate the technology, none has moved beyond the planning stage, turning what was billed as a pilot programme into little more than a paper exercise.

India’s power sector is entering a structural investment cycle that could require nearly INR 50 trillion by FY32 as electricity demand accelerates and peak power requirement rises from 271 GW to 388 GW, according to a research report by Equirus Securities.

The consultative committee of the power ministry on Thursday discussed the proposed framework for parallel distribution licensing, which seeks to introduce competition in electricity supply without duplicating the physical distribution network.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) will notify the regulations for the much-aniticipated but contentious market coupling mechanism in the next four to six weeks, a move that could alter the dynamics of power trading in the country with the introduction of a uniform market-clearing price.

India added 30.6 Gigawatts (Gw) of renewable energy capacity in the first half of 2026, registering a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth of 25 per cent, New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a social media post.

India plans to build at least five small modular reactors by 2033, as it seeks to broaden the use of nuclear power and reduce reliance on coal.

The commerce ministry will release the updated Index of Core Industries (ICI) next week, with the number of core industries set to increase to nine following the inclusion of iron ore to the existing eight: coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity.

The Ministry of Mines launched the eighth tranche of auctions for 20 critical and strategic mineral blocks as part of efforts to boost domestic availability of minerals essential for clean energy, advanced manufacturing and strategic industries.

India's crude steelmaking capacity has reached around 222 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as of June 2026, marking further progress towards the National Steel Policy target of 300 MTPA by 2030, according to the Ministry of Steel.

Indian Railways has commissioned 142 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCTs) across the country and granted in-principle approval for 310 additional terminals, significantly expanding the nation's multimodal freight infrastructure.