MoSPI mulls adding coal assets valuation to national accounts

New Delhi: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is exploring the inclusion of monetary valuations of non-renewable mineral and energy resources in the national accounts, using coal as a pilot case in a discussion paper issued Wednesday.

The paper outlined a framework for assigning monetary values to non-renewable mineral and energy assets within the national accounting system.

"Accurate and transparent monetary valuation of India's mineral and energy resources will serve as a foundational input for data-driven policymaking and sustainable development," the ministry said.


Coal has been selected for the pilot due to its importance to the Indian economy. The paper sets out methodologies for compiling monetary asset accounts for coal in line with the UN's System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

Coal remains the backbone of India's energy sector, accounting for bulk of power generation, and serving as a key input for several industries. While official statistics currently track coal reserves and production in physical terms, the proposed framework seeks to estimate their economic value.

The paper recommended the Net Present Value (NPV) method, the internationally accepted approach for valuing non-renewable resources. Under this, the value of coal reserves is estimated by discounting future resource rents: the surplus generated after accounting for extraction costs, labour expenses and returns on invested capital.