Rajiv R. Mishra, Chairman cum Managing Director of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) addressed the inaugural session of the National Conference as Chief Guest on “Advances in Mining and Geotechnical Engineering†at Nagpur this morning while Shri. Dipankar Shome, Director (Production & Planning) of MOIL was prominently present as guest of honor during the session. The session was being chaired by Shri. Govindlal Ji Agarwal, General Secretary, Shri. Ramdeobaba College of Engineering & Management.  
Shri. Mishra stated that coal would remain the backbone of the industries and growth engine of the country for about a further thirty years and we all need to have a broader picture of present requirements. At present National priority is to protect the drainage of Indian rupee on account of importing coal from international markets. This platform can be used to prepare a road map for a further five or ten years with a holistic approach.
Looking at the growing demand for coal and minerals he said that the visionary targets are to be achieved by the mining and mineral sector. Supporting the decision of captive coal] blocks he said, there is no harm felt in extending coal blocks to other players because either you meet out the current requirement by producing or let it be produced by someone else for the Nation.
Speaking at the importance of preparing a proper road maps with fixed timelines Shri. Mishra shared the turnaround story of WCL and told that how a sinking company became 53 million tonnes coal-producing company with various commercial diversification plans like segregating sand from overburden of mines, utilization of mine water for potable & irrigation purpose and Eco- mine tourism, which have started earning revenue for the company.
He congratulated Shri. Diwakar Gokhale, Chairman, Organizing Committee of the conference for holding a wonderful conference on a relevant topic and for holding ownership of various diversification plans of WCL. Adding the diversification plans he said now WCL can proudly say that “we also produce coalâ€.
He said that no production should be done at the cost of safety & environment. He proposed to start the domestic manufacturing of mining machines by starting joint ventures with Indian companies as being done in China. He also emphasized the need of better exploration techniques for planning better production strategies. A souvenir was also released on the occasion.   
Prior to this Dipankaar Shome, Director (Production & Planning) of MOIL delivered his speech as guest of honour and emphasized on use of new technology to be used in the sector. He asked the gathering to find suitable technology for extracting small mineral deposits. As our country has plenty full of small deposits of industrial minerals. If done they can be job generators in remote and small villages. Govindlal Ji Agarwal also showered his blessings during his speech as chairperson of the seminar. Vote of thanks was proposed by Prof. M S Tiwari, Organizing Secretary of the conference.
Rakesh Tumane, Director Finance MOIL gave an interesting keynote address on sustainability, lightening examples of Einstein and game theories and their application in mining.
The three days National conference and expo on “Advances in Mining and Geotechnical Engineering†is being organized at Hotel Tuli Imperial, Nagpur by Indian Mine Managers Association (IMMA), Nagpur Chapter in association with VNIT Mining Alumni Association and Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management (RCOEM) to further enhance professional skills of mining, mineral and infrastructure experts.
Over one hundred fifty delegates, managers, scientists and educationists working in various fields of mining, mineral and infrastructure like rock mechanics, geotechnical testing and exploration, geo environment, geoinformatics, ground improvement techniques, instrumentation, design and modelling are participating the conference from over thirty institutions.
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