Here are the highlights of PM Narendra Modi's speech at the launch of auction of 41 coal mines. India will turn the novel coronavirus crisis into an opportunity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. He was addressing the launch of auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining, through video conference. PM Modi called the auction a major step in making India self-reliant in the energy sector. “India will turn this Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity. It has taught India to be self-reliant. India to reduce its dependence on imports,” the prime minister said. “For decades, the country’s coal sector was entangled in a web of captive and non-captive. It was excluded from competition, and there was a big problem of transparency,” said PM Modi.