India has come a long way since 1774 when John Sumner and Suetonius Grant Heatly of the East India Company first commenced commercial exploitation, in the Raniganj Coalfield along the Western bank of Damodar river in Bengal. Today India is the fourth largest coal producer in the world with Coal India Limited being the biggest company in the world, producing around 500 million tons of coal annually. The East India company rejected the coal and continued its dependence on British coal.

It is great to see that with the removal of corruption in the coal mining allocation sector, there is a potential windfall awaiting the consumers. Through the efficient selling off of the coal blocks, to gather immediate revenue, the government has set itself up to substantially reduce coal imports, and costs, in its energy sector. The new policies are bringing greater productivity and transparency. The introduction of modern mining methodology to the huge reserves of Indian coal, and its transportation and logistics, can be a huge boost to Industrial growth. It remains the cheapest form of energy, albeit, at an environmental cost. Carbon emissions will increase in thermal power plants, until less polluting green energy sources or gas from neighboring countries arrives via pipelines, to meet the need of a billion people.

In a surprising news Indian ‘Power consumers are likely to gain to the extent of Rs 69,310 crore (693 billion Rupees)  from the reduction in electricity tariff enabled by the auction of nine coal blocks to power sector firms so far,’ power ministry said in a statement today in the Economic Times. The Indian coal ministry also informed the production of raw coal in the country during April-November 2016-17 was 391 million tons as compared to 385 MT during the corresponding period of previous year, an overall growth of 1.6 per cent. “The coal ministry has given special focus to decrease coal imports. Government has saved about Rs 20,000 crore in the year 2015-16 and about Rs 4,844 crore in the first four months of the current year. The efforts on this front would lead to a further replacement of 15.37 MT of imported coal by March 2017,” the statement said.
On another note Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary at Indian Captive Power Producers Association (ICPPA) asked for rationalization of tariffs in the sector. He also said, assuming the government agreed to forego entire tax on coal, the cost of coal will reduce by 50 per cent and the corresponding electricity cost by 40 per cent. This will turn all the discoms profitable. “Prices can be reduced by further 50 per cent if CIL is able to bring its manpower costs to International norms. Power cost will further reduce if costly NTPCBSE 0.50 % purchase pacts are rationalized,” he said. The greatest threat to efficient and stable power and energy distribution in India lies in the hands of undercapitalized discoms who give away free power to large groups of constituents. Pay for use must be instituted as a fixed or metered approach and costs to all the consumers, and only the poorest should be subsidized.

India sits on the cusp of an energy revolution as it moves from chronic shortages, to a more stable policy after centuries of inefficiency. Enormous work still has to be done, but as far as I can see carbon energy will continue to grow for decades. Till ambitious plans for nuclear, solar, wind, biogas, hydro, tidal come to fruition, coal remains the king of a dirty heap. As the economic conditions improve, the government has to remove current subsidies to agriculture and other consumers, and come up with a rationalized tariff and subsidy policy, which maximizes revenue, and minimizes hardships for the poor. The coal and thermal energy sector is showing that the more India invests, the higher chances of increasing productivity and growth, in the short to medium term for its people.

Contentment is a vexing question as I have not had anyone ask how much, is too much of it? There just appears to be a huge shortage of it, in the modern world. The accompanying painting depicts, what may today be an old man, with his iPad, and wine with a curious grandchild. Can only the old be content, or is it a trait, that can be inculcated into 5 year old monks, who have just entered an order. Buddha said contentment came from within, and we should not look outside for it. Yet our constant contact with the external universe, is unavoidable, and we have to confront our hostile environment, and still survive and prosper.

Marcus Aurelius wrote “Live with the gods. And he who does so constantly shows them that his soul is satisfied with what is assigned to them.” The concept of plenty and a world of cornucopia overflowing, is some people’s idea of contentment. Others believe that giving up everything external, is the way to contentment (the naked saint).  It is only when all our base needs in Maslow’s hierarchy are met, can we even strive for the next state, according to others. Yes the laughing young Tibetan monk has become so rare, and times have changed, as the world around us has changed. We have a belligerent China seeking its place on the world stage, or as Zhuang Zhong said to find its place in nature. We have a burning middle east, where war has displaced millions of refugees, needing humanitarian assistance for food, health and education. Countries in Africa and Asia are recovering from decades of misrule and economic backwardness. Contentment is slowly dying across our world, it seems.

For those who claim that money is the source of happiness and contentment, “There is also the concept of the diminishing marginal utility of income (DMUI), which is that money has no effect on happiness, once a certain income level has been reached, and which represents wealth and happiness as having a curvilinear relationship.” Veenhoven, Ruut (1991) stated in “Is Happiness Relative?” We have to move into a world of greater economic parity, where wealth is more broadly shared, to meet humanity’s basic needs. There is much mistaken talk of different races and religions to divide us. The last I looked there is only one human race and we are all in it together. Shared prosperity is the easiest way to increase contentment in our world, as greater wealth does not buy greater happiness

‘This is because happiness is really a state of in-and-out flow of one’s energy. Using or giving money is an expression of out-flowing of one’s life-state. Attempt to just hoard more and more in the belief that it brings more happiness can lead to the opposite result if only because the means – that is the pursuit of money for happiness – has unwittingly become the ends. (Wikipedia)’ There has to be a better way and that way was shown by the thinkers and philosophers over the centuries. I want to be that man sitting in that chair, with my communicator in hand, contemplating the state of our universe, as my body slowly turns the red wine, into me .Yet my true leisurely activity will be in playing with that grandchild and passing on all my wisdom, through her, into our future. Contentment is a state of being and having a healthy body helps.