The Coal Ministry said on Monday that Vikram Dev Dutt, 1993-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, has assumed the charge of Coal Secretary.
Dutt, who was previously the Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), took the charge from VL Kantha Rao, who currently serves as the Mines Secretary.
Rao held the additional charge in the Ministry of Coal after the then Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena was appointed as the Chief Secretary of Bihar.
Dutt joins the Ministry at a time when the government aims to enhance coal production to more than 1 billion tonnes in a bid to meet the rising demand from the Power and Industrial sectors.
India’s power demand is growing exponentially, in the range of 6-7 per cent annually, and the bulk of power generation is through coal-fired plants.
The government will add 80 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired capacity by 2032 considering that the demand for power is growing at a significant pace, coupled with the requirement of firm power to balance the grid as more renewable energy sources are being added. This will be another major task before the new Coal Secretary.