Coal India Ltd. has chosen to gradually phase out imports over a period of 5–6 years in order to support domestic manufacturing of earth-moving machinery used in mines, according to the coal ministry. The government claims that Coal India imports high-capacity equipment such as electric rope shovels, hydraulic shovels, dumpers, crawler dozers, drills, motor graders, front-end loaders
wheel dozer, continuous miners equipment, and others worth approximately Rs 3,500 crore and pays Rs 1,000 crore in customs duty, incurring significant costs on buying machinery through importing. As a result, it has been decided to gradually phase out imports over the course of the next five to six years by supporting and expanding the capabilities of domestic equipment producers. The Coal Ministry says that some of the high-capacity equipment is currently being trial-purchased from domestic producers.
With the aim of using domestically produced equipment whenever possible in coal production, transportation, and monitoring without hurting productivity, the CIL has undergone considerable standardisation of the mining equipment to be deployed.
Under the "Make in India" policy, the government has also chosen to make use of government infrastructure assets that are now inoperable and underutilised, such as the Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation (MAMC), Jessops.
