Ministry of Coal has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) headed by AS, Coal consisting of Ministry of Power, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways with the aim of preparing a long-term plan for coal movement in the country. The committee has recommended several measures to promote RSR evacuation of coal to reach 112 MT by 2030, from the existing 40MT.
This strategy offers multifaceted benefits. Firstly, it is likely to reduce congestion on the All-Rail Route by providing an additional alternative mode of coal evacuation. Secondly, it creates export opportunities by building infrastructure that can be utilized for exports in the future and lastly, RSR has significantly lower carbon footprint compared to ARR.
The coastal shipping mode of transportation, which is an economical and eco-friendly system for moving goods, has the potential to revolutionize India’s logistics industry. Opting for Rail-Sea-Rail could potentially save around Rs. 760-1300 per ton in logistics costs for end users located in Southern India.
Presently, for supply of Coal from MCL (Paradip) to Western/Northern TPPs the total cost increases by around Rs 2500/ton over ARR but still it is cheaper than the total landed cost of imported coal.
