New Delhi: Vikram Dev Dutt, a senior civil servant, on Monday assumed charge as secretary to the Union ministry of coal.

A 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, Dutt was till recently the director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

He succeeds V.L. Kantha Rao, who currently serves as the secretary of the ministry of mines and held the additional charge of the ministry of coal after the previous secretary Amrit Lal Meena was appointed the chief secretary of Bihar in August.

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Dutt takes charge at a crucial time as the government is looking at increasing India’s coal production and reduce import dependence. For FY25, the Centre has set a target of 1.08 million tonnes and take the annual production to 1.5 million tonnes by FY30.

In the previous fiscal, coal production touched a new high of 997.4 million tonnes, marking an 11.67% increase from FY23.

The government is also trying to boost investor interest in commercial mine auctions. In the 10th round of auctions, the coal ministry received a total of 44 bids. The bids were opened on Monday.

A total of 67 coal blocks were auctioned in the 10th round. In August, Mint reported that the ministry to offer over 50 blocks in the 11th round of auctions.

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The production of coal from both captive and commercial blocks during the first half of FY25, from 1 April to 30 September, has increased by 32% year-on-year, from 60.52 million tonnes to 79.72 million tonnes. Similarly, coal dispatch has grown 34%, from 65.37 million tonnes to 87.86 million tonnes in the same period.

Dutt’s appointment comes at a time when along with the focus on increasing production, the ministry is also looking at alternative and greener use of the fossil fuel with an emphasis on coal gasification.

Public sector coal companies are also installing renewable energy capacity such as solar power along with looking at ways to utilize closed mines as pumped storage projects.

NEW DELHI: Thanks to its recent Rs 3,000-crore funding, SpiceJet has informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) it plans to have all its grounded planes back in the air within 18-24 months.
Ajay Singh’s airline has earmarked Rs 400 crore for spares, maintenance and engineering for this task. In the interim, it will also wet-lease some planes (hire planes with operating crew) to give a boost to capacity, this is what SpiceJet engineering informed the DGCA last Friday when the airline was called for their post-funding plans regarding operational fleet size.
The more comes at a time when the regulator is finalising the winter schedule of flights that will be effective from this month’s end. “The airline informed seven grounded aircraft will be flying again by the calendar year-end,” said sources.
Before it recently secured funding, more than half of SpiceJet’s fleet had been grounded. As on June 30, 2024, 36 of its 64 planes were grounded. And of the 28 airworthy planes, barely a few were flying. Clearly, the airline wants to change that quickly. After securing the funding, SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh told TOI the airline aims to have a fleet of 100 aircraft by the end of 2026.
On Tuesday, the airline announced it will have 10 more planes flying by Nov-end by leasing seven and ungrounding three. Agreements for these seven leased aircraft have been signed and they should be inducted by Nov 15. “Two of these leased aircraft have already arrived in India and are scheduled for immediate induction. SpiceJet will also operationalise its grounded planes in phases, with the first three set to re-enter service before the end of November,” the airline said in a statement.
“This fleet expansion follows SpiceJet’s successful qualified institutional placement (QIP) (for) Rs 3,000 crore…. In addition to the QIP, the airline is set to receive an additional Rs 736 crore from a previous funding round, further bolstering its financial stability and growth trajectory,” the airline said.
SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said: “This addition is crucial as we continue to meet the growing demand for air travel while strengthening our operational capabilities. With the capital raised, SpiceJet is well-positioned to offer improved services and an expanded route network. We are committed to delivering seamless, reliable, and affordable travel, and we are excited about the future for both the airline and our passengers.”