Consider the following statements:
1. Coal sector was nationalized by the Government of India under Indira Gandhi.
2. Now, coal blocks are allocated on lottery basis.
3. Till recently, India imported coal to meet the shortages of domestic supply, but now India is self-sufficient in coal production.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: The coking and non-coking coal mining sectors were nationalized in phased legislation between 1971 and 1973 under the Indira Gandhi government, leading to the creation of Coal Mines Authority Ltd and subsequently Coal India Limited (CIL) in 1975.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Following the cancellation of arbitrary coal blocks by the Supreme Court in 2014, commercial and captive coal blocks are allocated through transparent electronic competitive auctions (e-auctions) under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, not on a lottery basis.
Statement 3 is incorrect: India remains heavily dependent on imports of high-grade coking coal (for blast-furnace steel manufacturing) and thermal coal for coastal power plants due to domestic calorific and ash-content constraints. India is not self-sufficient in coal production.
Hence, only statement 1 is correct — Option A.