The Union Coal Minister, Mr. Sriprakash Jaiswal today said that Government is focusing on switching to coal gasification technology in the country to overcome power shortages. Coal gasification is an environment-friendly way of converting coal into hydrogen and other valuable energy. Addressing newsmen after the coal review meet in New Delhi, Mr. Jaiswal said coal gasification is the only solution for the country in view of its geographical location. He said that the government will initiate dialogue with Russia for this purpose as it is expert in the use of this technology. He said that 60 per cent of coal resource available cannot be utilized due to the forest cover and it is an urgent need to bring the technology in place soon. Mr. Jaiswal said that coal sector companies have registered robust growth of around 10 percent in coal production from April to September this year. He said that coal production in the country during these month have touched 184.4 million tonnes.