India’s coal output rises 10% in Jan

The country’s coal output rose 10.3 per cent to 99.73 Million Tonne (MT) in January, over the same month in the previous fiscal. India’s coal production was at 90.42 MT in the year-ago period.

The coal production in the April-January period rose to 784.11 MT (Provisional) over 698.99 MT during the same period in 2022-23, the coal ministry said in a statement. The country’s coal dispatch in January rose to 87.37 MT over 82.02 MT in January last fiscal.

As on January 31, the coal stock held by coal companies reached 70.37 MT, it said, adding that this surge reflects an annual growth rate of 47.85 per cent. “Concurrently, the coal stock at Thermal Power Plants, specifically at the location identified as Domestic Coal Based, marked a notable increase to 36.16 MT on the same date, with an annual growth rate of 15.26 per cent,” it said.

The government has taken several steps to ramp up domestic production of coal and is committed to reducing shipments of all substitutable grade coal, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi informed Parliament on Monday.

Coal import for blending dropped 44.3 per cent in AprilNovember FY24 over the yearago period, the minister said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

“The focus of the government is on increasing the domestic production of coal and to eliminate non-essential imports of coal in the country. Most of the requirements of coal in the country are met through indigenous production/supply,” he said.

India imported 169.08 MT of coal in April-Nov FY24. The import was 237.67 MT in FY23, 208.63 MT in FY22 and 215.25 MT in FY21.