Coal has been recognized as the most important source of energy for electricity generation in India. About 75% of the coal in India is consumed in the power sector. In addition, other industries like steel, cement, fertilizers, chemicals, paper and thousands of medium and small-scale industries are also dependent on coal for their process and energy requirements. In the transport sector, though direct consumption of coal by the Railways is almost negligible on account of phasing out of steam locomotives, the energy requirement for electric traction is still dependent on coal converted into electric power. The coal reserves of India up to the depth of 1200 m have been estimated by the Geological Survey of India at 247.85 billion tonnes as on January 1, 2005 of which 92 billion tonnes are proven. Hard coal deposits spread over 27 major coalfields, are mainly confined to eastern and south central parts of India.