State-owned CIL, which has imported high-capacity mining equipment worth RS 3500 crore in the past five years, has drawn up a plan to phase out such inbound shipments over the next six years, the government said on Thursday. The move aims to encourage and develop domestically manufactured equipment, it said.

“Currently, Coal India Ltd (CIL) imports high-capacity equipment, such as electric rope shovels, hydraulic shovels, dumper, crawler dozers, drills, motor graders, and front-end loaders wheel dozer, valued at Rs3500 crore, incurring additional expenses of Rs 1000 crore in customs duty,” the coal ministry said in a statement.

This equipment was imported over the past five years. To curb these imports and boost domestic manufacturing, CIL has devised a strategy to phase out imports gradually over the next six years, it said.

Notably, high-capacity machines are already being procured from domestic manufacturers.

With a strong commitment to reduce the country’s dependence on imports and promoting domestic production, the centre is taking steps to foster indigenous manufacturing capabilities within the coal mining sector.

“In pursuit of this goal, an interdisciplinary high-level committee under the chairmanship od Director (Technical), CIL, was constituted to provide recommendations for bolstering domestic manufacturing of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) and underground mining equipment, including High Wall Miners, standard and low-capacity miners, and associated ancillary equipment,” the statement said.

It is projected that coal will remain the predominant source of energy even beyond 2030, thus, the panel expected a huge requirement of equipment in the next 10 years in the country, for opencast and underground mines and submitted its final report.

The panel consisted of representatives from the ministries of Heavy Industries and Railways and various stakeholders among others.

Coal India accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal output.