Indian coal sector employs 13 million people in India

On Monday to assess the Socio-economic impacts of coal transition in India, more than 13 million people employed in coal mining, transportation, power, sponge iron, steel, and bricks sectors will be impacted by the impending coal transition, according to a study released.

According to a study released by the National Foundation for India (NFI), a think tank, and launched by Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Anil Jain, the transition away from coal will have the greatest impact on people in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

The study's coal transition is based on India's agreement to a clause in the Glasgow Climate Pact that calls for a phase-down of unabated coal power while acknowledging the need for support for just transitions at the recently concluded COP26 in Glasgow.

In this critical decade, the Pact also recognised the need for accelerated action based on the best available scientific knowledge and equity, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in light of different national circumstances and the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication efforts.

According to the study, the transition out of coal will have the greatest impact on people in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. At least half of all districts in Jharkhand (15) and West Bengal (11), 30% of districts in Odisha and Chhattisgarh (nine) will be impacted in the next 30 to 50 years when India gradually phases out coal.

The phase-out of coal in these districts will have political, social, economic, and financial ramifications, particularly in communities where coal mining has been a way of life for over 200 years.

According to the NFI study, 135 districts in India have two or more coal-dependent assets, such as a coal mine, thermal power plant, sponge iron plant, or steel plant, all of which are vulnerable to a coal phase-out.

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