CISF–BCCL workshop outlines future-ready security framework for Indian Coal Industry
DHANBAD: With the emphasis on speeding up the production of coal within India’s focus on fueling the progress, a Functional Workshop on the Coal Sector over the last two days on December 15-16 concluded between the CISF and BCCL within the headquarters premises of BCCL, Koyla Nagar.
This major event attracted the attention of big guns with the aim of henceforth fortifying the national security structure within the coal chain in India.
The workshop was attended by top officials of the CISF, top executives of coal sector PSUs, and representatives of the district admin, industry, and academia to discuss concerns, best practices, and a future-ready security strategy.
In India, it is noted that “coal remains a backbone for its power sector, with coal-based power making up nearly three-fourths of its entire electrical output and coal-based industries such as steel and cement making a major contribution.”
Additionally, a target has been set for increasing production in India by 1.5 billion tons by 2030, majorly from East and Central India. Accordingly, safe and legal operation has become a strategic consideration for them now.
The threats that loomed large and were emphasized by the stakeholders were illegal mining activities in coal futures, pilferages and safety concerns that result from corruption-related vulnerabilities of abandoned coal mines, and those associated with cyber and system-level threats posed by online coal mining platforms and integrated command centers and remote monitoring services.
The inauguration of this workshop was done by Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chairman & MD, BCCL, in the presence of Deepak Verma, Inspector General, CISF Eastern Sector. Senior officers of CISF from coal-based units, executives of Coal India subsidiaries, NTPC, and Tata Steel, officials from Dhanbad district administration, and faculty from IIT (ISM), Dhanbad were also present. Director General of CISF Praveer Ranjan and ADG (North), Sudhir Kumar, addressed this meeting through virtual mode.
The two-day event saw sessions on sophisticated mining technologies, integrated surveillance systems, drone-based surveillance, HR-driven safety programs, disaster response, and real-time monitoring systems through ICMS and Integrated Command & Control Centers. There was a focus on creating a uniform security process for outsourced and MDO operations.
