New Delhi, Jan 29 Coal will continue to play a central role in India’s energy mix as the country works towards tripling its per capita energy consumption on the path to Viksit Bharat 2047, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said on Thursday.
Speaking at a leadership panel on the third day of India Energy Week 2026 in Goa, Dutt said India’s energy transition must be guided by realism and ground realities.
Addressing the session titled ‘Coal’s evolving role in a secure energy mix: charting a balanced and pragmatic approach’, he stressed that affordable and reliable baseload power remains critical for India’s development.
“Coal is not going away in a hurry. For India, dependable and affordable power is not a choice but an imperative,” Dutt said, adding that the focus should be on a gradual and calibrated “phase down” of coal rather than a sudden phase-out.
“Coal continues to underpin India’s growth needs even as the country expands renewable energy in line with its climate commitments,” he noted.
Offering a global perspective, Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary for Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy at the US Department of Energy, said coal remains important for energy security across the world.
He said reliable and affordable energy is essential, and coal provides stability irrespective of weather conditions or market volatility.
Haustveit also highlighted the potential for stronger India–US cooperation in areas such as clean coal technologies, coal gasification, carbon utilisation and the supply of high-quality metallurgical coal.
From an industry standpoint, Coal India Limited Chairman-cum-Managing Director B. Sairam said coal will act as a bridge fuel during India’s energy transition.
He pointed out that India’s per capita energy consumption is still about one-third of that in developed economies, and as demand rises sharply, coal will provide firm and dispatchable power while renewable energy and storage solutions continue to mature.
He added that increasing domestic coal production would help cut imports and save valuable foreign exchange.
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