The Coal Ministry said on Thursday that Coal India Ltd (CIL) has developed a strategic plan to phase out imports of expensive heavy mining equipment and replace them with locally built equipment over the next six years.

CIL now imports high-capacity equipment worth Rs 3,500 crores, including Electric Rope Shovels, Hydraulic Shovels, Dumpers, Crawler Dozers, Drills, Motor Graders, and Front-End Loaders Wheel Dozers, with an extra Rs 1000 crores in customs tax.

Under the chairmanship of the Director (Technical), CIL, an interdisciplinary high-level committee was formed to provide recommendations for bolstering domestic manufacturing of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) and underground mining equipment, including High Wall Miners, Standard and Low-Capacity Miners, and associated ancillary equipment.

It is estimated that coal would continue to be the primary energy source even beyond 2030, thus the Committee anticipated a large need for equipment in the nation over the next ten years, both for opencast and underground mines, and published its final report.

Representatives from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Railways, SCCL, NLCIL, NTPC, WBPDCL, BEML, Caterpillar, Tata Hitachi, GAINWELL, industry groups, and numerous stakeholders served on the Committee.

Following CIL’s current equipment standardizing initiative, the Committee has suggested the standardized of equipment to enhance domestic manufacture to captive/commercial mine operators, MDO/outsourcing contractors, and departmental equipment. It has also suggested that tender provisions encourage the use of indigenous equipment to help the “Make in India” agenda.

A strategy is also proposed to incentivize firms to design, develop, and manufacture equipment in India for five years as part of the Make in India effort.

CIL has completed a detailed standardization of the mining equipment that will be deployed. The goal is to guarantee that locally built equipment is widely used in coal production, transportation, and monitoring without sacrificing productivity.

Coal India Limited (CIL) has published standardized standards to foster “Make in India.”

Promoting indigenous equipment capabilities would help reduce the breakdown period of imported equipment, which is often left inoperable owing to a shortage of replacement parts.

This will be accomplished by producing significant aggregates such as engines, transmission systems, differentials, and motors while imposing duty limits on essential components and materials.

Coal India Ltd. (CIL) has already begun purchasing High Capacity HEMM and sophisticated Continuous Miners capable of remote monitoring and real-time position tracking to improve efficiency and safety.

Efforts are being made to boost indigenous HEMM manufacturing. Domestic manufacturers have been identified for the manufacturing of mining equipment for both opencast (OC) and underground (UG) mining, as well as technological and capacity upgrades.

CIL has also launched Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) Load Haul Dump (LHD) machines, which provide better ventilation and cost savings.

According to the Coal Ministry, CIL is dedicated to extending these technologies, assuring high recovery, reduced costs, and greater safety, with possible BEV LHDs in Degree-II mines.

Fostering relationships and joint ventures with internationally recognized equipment manufacturers is also a primary objective, according to the statement.