New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- Coal India Ltd plans to invest nearly Rs.48,000 crore in rail connectivity and mechanized coal evacuation as it works towards producing 1 billion tonnes of coal annually by fiscal year 2030 (FY30), chairman and managing director B. Sairam said in an interview.

The state-run miner is also committing Rs.50,000 crore with joint-venture partners to three coal gasification projects and exploring more projects with the governments of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.

The investment push comes as rising industrial diesel and ammonium nitrate prices linked to the West Asia war put pressure on mining costs. CIL has absorbed the increase so far rather than passing it on through higher coal prices, he said.

CIL accounts ...