NLC India Limited (NLCIL) joined the Nation in celebrating the 79th Independence Day of the Nation with great fervor and enthusiasm. Inaugurating the celebrations, Shri Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, CMD, NLCIL, garlanded the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Township Administration Office premises in the presence of Functional Directors, Chief Vigilance Officer and senior officials of NLCIL. Later, he hoisted the National Flag at the Bharathi Stadium. He also inspected the ceremonial parade by 18 platoons comprising CISF, Tamil Nadu Home Guards, NCC, NSS Units, NLCIL Security & Fire Services & students of schools and accepted the Guard of Honour. In his address, Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, CMD, NLCIL, paid rich tributes to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters who laid down their lives in India’s freedom struggle by recalling their selfless sacrifices by dedicating their lives to the cause of the Nation's independence. As the ever-evolving story of India’s progress, resilience and determination unfolds, at NLC India, we take pride in being a key contributor to the national effort, he said. Recalling NLCIL’s significant growth journey, especially the last three financial years, he pointed out how the company had re-aligned its perspective towards diversification by venturing into commercial mining, critical minerals mining, expanding its Renewable Energy portfolio, M-sand from Mine overburden, solar plants on reclaimed mined-out lands, thereby effectively turning waste into wealth. He also stated that, with the commissioning of Unit 1 (660 MW) of the Ghatampur Thermal Power Project in Uttar Pradesh, NLCIL has entered the elite group of Supercritical Thermal Plant operators. Multiple Joint Ventures were formed with state governments to boost renewable energy development, laying the foundation for realizing NLCIL’s ambitious Vision 2030 targets of 10 GW Thermal capacity, 100 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) in Lignite Mining and achieving 10.1 GW in renewable energy capacity. The momentum has been confirmed by the financial results in the Quarter 1 of the Financial Year 2025-26, he said, with overall lignite excavation of 38.81 Lakh tonnes, coal production from Talabira Coal mines of 37.88 Lakh Tonnes and an all time high total power generation of 6,609.40 Million Units of Power. The Profit After Tax saw a growth of 48.09% over the corresponding period of last year. He took pride in the fact that the Government of India had granted NLCIL investment autonomy by granting investment exemption worth Rs.7000 crores which reflected the trust in NLCIL at the highest level and recognition of the strong business profile of the company. NLCIL has also unveiled an ambitious investment plan of Rs.1.25 lakh crores to triple total power capacity from 6.7 GW to 20 GW by 2030. Various diversification initiatives like development of critical mineral assets in collaboration with Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) support the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, he affirmed. NLCIL has also reaped a rich harvest of awards including Star ratings for its Mines, Special Campaign 4.0, Mission Karmayogi, CSR, Environment and Safety. NLCIL spent nearly Rupees 48 crore for its CSR activities in the Financial Year 2024-25, benefiting over 8 lakh people, he said, which underlined the company’s commitment towards community welfare. He also congratulated students of Neyveli for their excellent academic performances and success in competitive examinations. Stressing upon the fact that the global energy landscape was fast changing, he declared that NLCIL was prepared to support the Nation in facing the challenges with its rapid diversifications into Green Hydrogen, expanding battery storage systems, integrating Thermal with Renewable energy and mining critical minerals. When the story of India in the 21st century was written, NLCIL’s name would be written in golden letters, he asserted. Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, placed on record his gratitude to the Hon’ble Minister of Coal & Mines Shri M. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Coal & Mines Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, Secretary (Coal), Officials of the Coal Ministry, the State Governments of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Administration for their support to NLCIL’s projects. He concluded his address by stating that NLCIL would remain a beacon of excellence in the Indian power landscape by lighting lives, upholding highest standards of safety and igniting innovation. Earlier, Shri Samir Swarup, Director (HR), welcomed the gathering. The senior most worker of NLCIL M Ravichandran, Service Worker Grade-I (General), Mine-I, along with his spouse Mrs R Karpagam, were honoured.  This year, in place of Tricycles, Retrofitted scooters were presented to differently abled persons (Divyangs). Dr. Suresh Chandra Suman, Director (Mines and P&P Addl. Charge), Samir Swarup, Director (HR), M. Venkatachalam, Director (Power), Dr. Prasanna Kumar Acharya, Director (Finance), Thiru Appakannu Govindarajan, IPoS, Chief Vigilance Officer, NLCIL and DIG/CISF Shri Shekhar Mishra, participated in the function and presented various awards in the category of sports, best Units and CSR to the winners.  Senior officers of NLCIL, Employees, representatives of recognized Trade Unions, Associations representing Engineers, Officers and Supervisors, SC/ST Employees’ Welfare Federation, ST Employees’ Welfare Association, OBC Employees’ Welfare Association, WIPS forum and the residents of Neyveli were present in Bharathi Stadium to witness the celebrations.  Colourful cultural programmes comprising fusion dance by students of Sneha Opportunity School, Dance formations to create awareness on drug abuse, patriotism, “Save rivers”, Operation Sindoor by school students and a fighting demo on unarmed combat performed by CISF personnel were appreciated by one and all. As a goodwill measure, Shri Samir Swarup, Director (HR) announced that the CMD Shri Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, had decided to present all the 4014 school students who participated in the Parade, Bharatheeyam and cultural programmes, a prize amount amounting to Rs.24.08 lakhs. To mark the occasion, the Members of the Neyveli Ladies Club distributed fruits to the in-patients of the NLCIL General Hospital and wished them a speedy recovery.