In an effort to showcase the importance of the fintech industry, NITI Aayog, in collaboration with PhonePe, AWS and EY, has organized a three-week-loDetails of closed/abandoned/discontinued coal mines in the country are as under:
Name of the Company
Number of closed/abandoned/ discontinued mines
(as on 1.4.2021)
CIL Mines
ECL
84
BCCL
42
CCL
29
NCL
1
WCL
56
SECL
66
MCL
2
NEC
4
SCCL Mines
SCCL
9
These mines have been closed/abandoned/discontinued due to depletion of reserve, spontaneous heating, safety reasons, inundation, adverse techno-economics, financial losses, adverse geo-mining conditions, surface constraints, conversion to opencast mine, etc.
The abandoned quarries of CIL are used for the following purposes:
Dumping /Filling of fly ash in to the worked out area for suitable reclamation.
Development of eco and mine tourism parks
Afforestation
Pisciculture
Source to supply of drinking water and other domestic use.
Generation of sand from overburden of opencast mines at few places
CIL is also exploring the possibilities to develop ground mounted solar power projects in its suitable decoaled area.
SCCL is taking up the following mine closure activities in these mines:
Extensive Plantation on overburden dumps and vacant lands as part of post closure reclamation works.
Developing agricultural fields, Eco-parks, fruit bearing and vegetable crops for the benefit of surrounding community.
Creating water bodies in the final voids which augment ground water recharge and also serve as source of water for agriculture, Dorli OC I, Dorli OC II.
It is proposed to fill the voids of Medipalli OCP after mine closure by fly ash generated from NTPC / TSTPS Project of Telangana State.
This information was given by Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.ng virtual summit, ‘Fintech Open’, from 7–28 February. The summit was inaugurated today by Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw in the presence of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar. Watch their addresses here.
All the events of the summit can be seen here.
A first-of-its-kind initiative, Fintech Open will bring together regulators, fintech professionals and enthusiasts, industry leaders, the start-up community, and developers to collaborate, exchange ideas and innovate.
While flagging off the event, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said, ‘Under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we believe in creating open platforms, such as Cowin and UPI, for healthcare, logistics and other sectors. An open platform is created using public investment, wherein numerous private entrepreneurs, start-ups and developers can join to create new solutions. For example, today, 270 banks are connected with the UPI and many entrepreneurs and start-ups have provided solutions that have helped increase the country’s fintech adoption rate—which is the highest globally at 87%.’
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar said, ‘India is witnessing increasing digitization with people getting greater and easier access to financial services. This has led to a shift in consumers’ financial behaviour—from cash to e-wallets and UPI. The expansion of digital payments is an important pivot for creating a more equitable, prosperous and financially inclusive India. The rise of fintech has accelerated financial inclusion. I am excited to see the countless possibilities that will be presented by the bright minds of our country over the next few weeks.’
Fintech Open aims to create an immersive learning experience. It has three objectives:
- Encourage an open ecosystem across the fintech industry
- Foster innovation and growth
- Ensure financial inclusion and leverage new models like Account Aggregator to unleash the next wave of fintech innovation.
The summit will have in-depth conversations, deep-dives, webinars, round-table discussions, etc., highlighting innovations and challenges undertaken by various start-ups. Additionally, fintech-related work will also be showcased, and the most innovative start-up will be recognized in a virtual felicitation ceremony.
Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO, PhonePe, said, ‘We are delighted to partner with NITI Aayog on this initiative, which is aimed at accelerating India’s fintech revolution. The fintech industry is playing a critical role in facilitating financial inclusion across the country. We look forward to the next few weeks, where we will get an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the industry, to innovate and build meaningful frameworks for the ecosystem.’
A key highlight of the summit will be India’s biggest fintech hackathon ever, which will provide an opportunity to individual developers and the start-up community to present breakthrough ideas with the potential to solve real-world problems. Additionally, to foster creativity, innovation, and an entrepreneurial mindset among children, another hackathon for school students will also be organized via Atal Innovation Mission’s Atal Tinkering Labs network.
The summit will have distinguished speakers such as Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder, Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys, and Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, along with several business leaders such as Kunal Shah, Founder, Cred; Yashish Dahiya, CEO, PolicyBazaar; Anuj Gulati, Founding MD and CEO, Care Health Insurance; Varun Dua, CEO, Acko General Insurance; Nithin Kamath, CEO, Zerodha; Vijay Chandok, Managing Director, ICICI Securities; Lalit Keshre, CEO, Groww; Kavitha Subramanian Co-Founder, Upstox; and Harshil Mathur, CEO, Founder, Razorpay.
