New Delhi, 15 May (H.S.):

Coal and Mines Minister of State Satish Chandra Dubey has reviewed the functioning of the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), headquartered in Ranchi. The meeting chaired by Dubey aimed to evaluate CMPDIL’s performance and to outline its future roadmap.

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Coal said that Minister of State Dubey chaired a review meeting for CMPDIL in Ranchi on 14 May to assess the organisation’s performance and future trajectory in the field of coal and mineral exploration. During the review session, CMPDIL’s execution in 2025–26 was presented against the 2026–27 targets across various operational domains, including exploration, report preparation, capital expenditure, research and development projects, CSR initiatives, and solar projects.

Dubey commended CMPDIL’s performance and emphasised the importance of clean coal technologies for the country’s future energy and economic security, as well as the need for strategic exploration of critical minerals.

On the occasion, the CMDs of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Neelendu Kumar Singh, and of Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), I.D. Narayan, were also present. Management was directed to streamline procurement processes, enhance transparency, and improve access to the market, so that project delays caused by a large number of bidders in tenders could be avoided.

The Ministry said that during the meeting CMPDIL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) to strengthen cooperation between the two major exploration agencies in the field of coal and mineral exploration for both energy and non‑energy minerals. The Ministry expects that this collaborative exploration activity will help increase the national reserves of coal and other minerals and facilitate the development of new mines across the country.

The Ministry added that this initiative is an important step towards the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision, by contributing to the development of India’s mineral wealth and enhancing self‑reliance in the mineral sector. Present at this review meeting were CMPDIL CMD Chaudhary Shivraj Singh, CCL CMD Neelendu Kumar Singh, MECL CMD I.D. Narayan, CMPDIL’s technical director, and senior officials from CMPDIL, CCL, and MECL.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar