The record numbers indicate renewed confidence in the coal sector as the Indian government seeks to ensure energy security for the country through thermal power till the time firm renewable energy becomes affordable.
With the Union government’s first national monetisation pipeline (NMP) coming to an end, the Ministry of Coal has topped the leaderboard, surpassing its targets by record Rs 63,000 crore, according to government data seen by Moneycontrol.
Against a total target of Rs 1.38 lakh crore in four years since 2021-22, the Ministry of Coal monetised its assets to earn Rs 2 lakh crore – 45 percent more than the target.
Officials said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways emerged as the second-best performing sector, even as its finals figures were not shared till the time of filing this report
Asset monetisation is the process of creating new sources of revenue for the government and its entities by unlocking the economic value of unutilised or underutilised public assets such as roads, mines, airports, pipelines, telecom towers, and so on. NMP was the Indian government’s first such initiative aimed to generate Rs 6 lakh crore from core central government assets over four years, from FY22 to FY25.
In the Union Budget 2025, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the second asset monetisation plan for 2025-30, targeting Rs 10 lakh crore in new investments. The details of which are currently being worked out by Niti Aayog and hence, the new targets across ministries are yet to be released.
Reforms to open up the coal sector helped
The Ministry of Coal managed to achieve such high-value asset monetisation through a combination of commercial coal mine auctions, development of mines through the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) model, and revenue sharing arrangements with Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries. Such multi-pronged approach resulted in significant revenue generation and increased private sector participation in the coal sector.
Source: moneycontrol.com