Ministry of Coal hosts Star Rating Award Ceremony in Mumbai, honours outstanding Coal and Lignite Mines
Ministry of Coal hosts Star Rating Award Ceremony in Mumbai, honours outstanding Coal and Lignite Mines
Mumbai, 4 September 2025
The Ministry of Coal today hosted the Star Rating Award Ceremony in Mumbai to honour outstanding coal and lignite mines for their exemplary achievements in safety, environmental sustainability, and operational excellence. The Chief Guest Union Minister of Coal and Mines Shri G. Kishan Reddy, in the presence of Minister of State for Coal and Mines Shri Satish Chandra Dubey and Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Shri Vikram Dev Dutt, presented the awards that recognize mines that excelled in key parameters such as safety, environmental management, scientific mining, productivity and community welfare. On this occasion, the newly designed CCO Website, along with an Interactive Dashboard, was inaugurated to enhance transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of information for stakeholders.
The Star Rating Award Ceremony recognized mines that have demonstrated exceptional performance in safety, environmental stewardship, and productivity. Certificates and awards were also distributed to other high-performing mines, reinforcing the Ministry’s commitment to promoting best practices in the sector. Union Minister of Coal & Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, presented the Five-Star Awards to the top-performing mines and commended their role in ensuring the Nation’s energy security while upholding global standards of safety and sustainability. He emphasized that the Star Rating initiative is not merely an award but a benchmark for responsible mining, urging all mines to strive for Five-Star status.
The event also featured award presentation to the winners of the Hackathon on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), and R & D, underscoring Coal Ministry’s commitment to fostering innovation in sustainable technologies. Adding to these milestones, two important frameworks were unveiled – L.I.V.E.S, which is a comprehensive practitioner’s guide formulated to serve as a benchmark for responsible and sustainable mine closures in alignment with global best practices, and ARTHA, which is a Green Financing Framework aimed at channeling investments towards transforming reclaimed mines into productive and environmentally friendly assets.
In his keynote address, Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy congratulated all award recipients for their exceptional performance in ensuring operational excellence while adhering to the highest safety and environmental standards. He emphasized on accelerating coal gasification and the adoption of clean-coal technologies to add value, reduce emissions and open new industrial avenues. The Union Minister said that the time has come to move from dependence on imports towards building capacities for coal exports, while simultaneously improving coal quality through greater use of washeries.
Shri G. Kishan Reddy also highlighted the importance of community-centric and progressive mine closure activities, large-scale afforestation, worker safety and welfare, and embedding innovation, environmental responsibility, sustainability and competitiveness at the heart of mining operations. By embracing innovation, he said, India’s coal sector can match global benchmarks while optimizing resource utilization. Calling “Reform, Perform, Transform” not merely a slogan but a duty, he urged all stakeholders to continuously strive for excellence and actively contribute towards Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat.
MoS for Coal and Mines Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, while addressing the Star Rating Award Ceremony for coal and lignite mines for the performance year 2023-24, emphasized that responsible mining must give equal priority to environmental protection, scientific mine closure, and community welfare along with production efficiency. He underlined that the Star Rating Policy serves as a benchmark not only for efficiency but also for ensuring land restoration, biodiversity conservation, safety of workers, and the welfare of project-affected families. He reiterated the importance of replicating best practices across all mines so that the benefits of efficiency, safety, and environmental care can be realized nationwide. Congratulating the award-winning companies, the Minister stated that mining should act as a catalyst for socio-economic development, creating employment opportunities and improving the quality of life in coal-bearing regions.
The Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Shri Vikram Dev Dutt, commended the award-winning mines for setting new benchmarks of performance, transparency and aligning with global best practices. He highlighted that the Star Rating framework acts as a catalyst for continuous improvement, motivating every mine to go beyond compliance and embed excellence across all operations. He noted that India has achieved a historic milestone of over one billion tonnes of coal production and supply in the last year, reflecting the sector’s steady growth and resilience. He underlined that mining today must be responsible, sustainable and competitive, balancing energy security with environmental stewardship and urged every mine to strive for even higher benchmarks in responsible mining to help build a self-reliant and Viksit Bharat.
Additional Secretary Smt. Rupinder Brar, senior officials of the Coal Ministry and representatives from coal PSUs as well as private sector mining companies were present amongst the dignitaries.
The ceremony witnessed a heartwarming cultural performance by specially-abled children, who showcased their talent, creativity, and determination. Their inspiring presentation added special touch to the occasion, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and celebrating the abilities and achievements of all members of society.
