Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pitches energy space for investments

New Delhi: India offers policy stability, transparency and consultative process of governance to incubate investment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday as she invited investments in prospecting energy resources in the country.

Stressing that there is a need for investments in coal, she said, "we need greater investments also to help in gasification of coal. I invite all of you to energetically participate in the (sixth round of commercial mines) auction processes which have been launched today and keep your options also further extended for greater extraction of minerals in India."

During this 'Amrit Kaal', India needs all the basic minerals as the country is in the process of rapid growth, she added. Quoting a Morgan Stanley report, the finance minister said India is the place where investment should be.

"This is where action is. We are definitely creating a policy environment through which greater transparency and greater policy stability guides and invites investments. The next 25 years are critical for India for both its growth and also for employment. "And above all, in the last eight years you would have seen under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi consistency of policy, favourable and positive environment for investments and for manufacturing. So with this, India creates greater ambience and above all consultative process with the stakeholders...," she said.

The finance minister invited industries to give their inputs and be active players in the consultative process. "Keep the sharing of information...because that's what is going to help us draft policy which will be favourable for businesses to work and that in turn creates the virtuous cycle for the economy," she said. During the occasion, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said at a time when there are talks of recession, India is the fastest growing and best performing economy.

The minister said 141 coal and lignite mines would be put on sale in the sixth round of commercial mines auction which was launched on Thursday. So far, around 67 coal mines have been put on sale under commercial mining, he noted. The ministry, he said, has eased certain provisions of the auction, including reduction in the overall upfront amount and easing of the exit route.

"We are taking every effort to de-risk coal mining projects," Joshi explained. Joshi further said the finance ministry has extended Rs6,000 crore incentive for coal gasification and Rs250 crore for exploration process. Sitharaman said India has the fourth largest reserves of coal in the world and it is the second largest producer.

The current exploration policy of the country has helped it in producing more coal. She said in the current regime, coal imports have come down significantly and the production has gone up.