The Indian Coal sector has predominantly two large players - Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited.

The integrated Energy Plan of India formulated under the aegis of the Planning Commission of India( now Niti Ayog) projected a coal requirement of 2343 million tonne in 2031-32 against a current consumption of about 850 million tonne in 2014-15 highlighting India’s needs to ramp up production.

92.5% production of Indian coal Industry is from the two coal majors - Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd. With the realization that these two companies alone would not be able to meet the requirement of the nation, India had embarked upon a path of liberalization of the coal industry by allocation of about 218 coal blocks with reserves over 45 billion tonne to entrepreneurs in various consuming sectors like iron & steel, power, cement etc.

The entry of new players in this industry further reiterates the need for high end, integrated consulting services to support each aspect of the coal production process.

Due to allegations of lack of transparency in the allocation process the matter finally reached Supreme Court and its judgment resulted in deallocation of 204 coal block. The Govt of India in a swift movement started reallocation through auction by competitive bidding. The prospect of industry has again brightened up.

Because of inadequate growth in coal production the import of coal went up reaching a high of about 240 mt in 2014-15. With coal major Coal India Ltd claiming to produce over 900 mt in 2019-20 from a level of about 494 mt in 2014-15 a control mechanism has already set in. The need of consultancy has grown manifold with fresh allocation of coal blocks.