Transition away from coal not happening in the near future: Govt

India's transition away from coal is not expected to happen soon, says the coal and mines minister. The country will continue to rely on coal to ensure affordable energy availability, despite pushing for renewable energy sources. While some mines may close due to exhaustion of reserves, new coal blocks are being operationalised to meet the growing energy demand. The government aims to provide new employment opportunities and better livelihood through redeployment of workers in new mines. The World Bank is involved in a project to study closed, abandoned, and to-be-closed mines and perform geo-spatial mapping of the area.