Coal Sector Witnessed Highest Growth: Focus on Coal India Limited

The coal sector has exhibited the highest growth of 11.6 % (provisional) among the eight core industries for the month of February 2024 as per the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) (Base Year 2011-12) released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industries.

During February 2024, the index of the coal industry reached 212.1 points as compared to 190.1 points during the same period of last year, and its cumulative index has increased by 12.1% from April to February 2023-24 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

The ICI measures the combined and individual production performance of eight core industries, viz. cement, coal, crude oil, electricity, fertilisers, natural gas, refinery products, and steel.

The coal industry has consistently outperformed, reflecting sustained double-digit growth over the past eight months and substantially higher growth than the overall growth of eight core industries in the last two financial years.

The significant surge in coal production during February 2024, with output reaching 96.60 million tonnes, has been the driving force behind this remarkable growth.

Coal India Limited

During FY 2024, Coal India Limited (CIL) produced 773.6 million tonnes (MTs) of coal. This indicates a growth of 10% over a high base of 703.2 MTs of FY 2023. During FY24, the company witnessed double-digit growth in production since its inception.

CIL’s production has increased by 151 MTs during the last two fiscal years. This exceeded the cumulative growth of 128.4 MTs during a six-year period, from FY 2016 to FY 2022, by 22.6 MTs. March 2024 saw the largest monthly production of coal ever, with 88.6 MTs.

With a about 30% rise, CIL’s coal inventory at the end of FY 2024 was around 90 MT, 20.7 MT greater than at the same point in the previous fiscal year. At CIL’s pitheads, the stock was 69.3 MTs during the same time last fiscal year. CIL loaded 292.2 rakes on average per day in FY 2024 compared to 273.6 rakes per day in FY 2023, representing a 6.8% increase.

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