Bloomberg cited unidentified sources as saying that the company is negotiating with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for the development of solar projects with a combined capacity of 1,000MW.
Describing Coal India and power producer NTPC as huge polluters, Indian Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this month that they "must give back to the society."
The initiative is a part of India’s efforts to provide continuous power to homes and factories, which is crucial to boost economic growth.
Indian Prime Minister is seeking to invest more than $100bn in renewable energy, including wind farms and solar parks to reduce dependency on coal.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Bharat Bhushan Agrawal said: "Investing in such projects will help Coal India fulfill its corporate social responsibility obligations ahead of a share sale program."
"The company has the resources, such as land and money, and can inspire other large state companies to take similar initiatives."
Meanwhile, the government is planning to divest 10% in Coal India, in order to meet the shortfall in budget.
The country is pacing up its efforts to increase solar power capacity from 2,800MW now to 10,000MW by 31 March 2017, the Union Renewable Energy Ministry said.
Image:India aims to increase solar power capacity to 10,000MW by 31 March 2017. Photo: courtesy of pakorn/Freedigitalphotos.net
