By THE NEWSMAN OF INDIA.COM|In alignment with the national objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat in the energy sector, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) organised its first-ever Chintan Shivir on 16 January 2026. The programme was held at the auditorium of SECL Headquarters, Bilaspur.

The objective of the Chintan Shivir was to undertake a comprehensive review of the company’s achievements, identify existing gaps, and deliberate on clear and time-bound action plans to strengthen key focus areas such as production, dispatch, safety, cost efficiency, sustainability and digitisation.

This unique and forward-looking initiative was led by SECL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Harish Duhan. Senior leadership including Director (Technical–Operations) N. Franklin Jayakumar, Director (Human Resources) Biranchi Das, Director (Finance) D. Sunil Kumar, Chief Vigilance Officer Himanshu Jain, and Director (Technical–Projects & Planning) Ramesh Chandra Mohapatra were present during the deliberations.

Nearly 200 officers from the Headquarters and all operational areas participated in the Chintan Shivir. The participants included Area General Managers, Heads of Departments and a large number of young officers up to E-5 level.

Addressing the gathering, CMD Harish Duhan said that SECL must once again be positioned as the country’s number one coal company. For this, reforms should not remain mere slogans but must become an integral part of the organisation’s work culture. Emphasising speed, technology and digital interventions, he stressed the need for faster execution and a clear, transparent decision-making process. He highlighted the importance of maintaining quality along with production to deliver a superior customer experience, while continuously working on cost efficiency and revenue generation. Referring to Vision 2030 and Vision 2047, he underscored the need to stay ahead in diversification, the net-zero roadmap and industry linkages. He also called upon young officers, describing them as the future of the company, to play a leading role in realising SECL’s vision and transforming it into a future-ready organisation.

Fifteen Presentations, Open Dialogue and Participative Deliberations

During the Chintan Shivir, a total of 15 presentations were made by Heads of Departments. The presentations covered a wide range of topics including the company’s roadmap towards 2047, underground production plans, quality control, dispatch, FMC, safety, land acquisition and rehabilitation, environment and forest clearances, use of digitisation and AI, human resources, finance and contract management.

Each session was followed by an interactive question-and-answer segment, in which the CMD, all Directors and the Chief Vigilance Officer actively participated. Open-floor discussions encouraged the exchange of ideas, suggestions and innovative inputs, promoting both top-down and bottom-up approaches.

It is noteworthy that this Chintan Shivir at SECL was organised in the backdrop of the Chintan Shivir convened by the Ministry of Coal in New Delhi from 5–6 January 2026 with the management of Coal India and its subsidiaries. Based on the key takeaways and directions from that forum, SECL first conducted similar deliberations at the operational area level, followed by this consolidated *Chintan Shivir* at the Headquarters.

A New Initiative, A New Perspective

The *Chintan Shivir* marks a new, structured and participative initiative by SECL aimed at strengthening collaboration, innovation, transparency and result-oriented thinking within the organisation. The platform not only helped prepare the organisation for future challenges but also emerged as a powerful medium to actively involve young officers in policy formulation and the decision-making process.