India’s coal sector continues to play a pivotal role in supporting the country’s expanding economy. However, a significant gap remains in the availability of domestic coal reserves, particularly for coking coal and high-grade thermal coal, which are essential for critical industries like steel production. To bridge this gap, coal imports have been crucial.
Recent data for the first seven months of the 2024-25 fiscal year (April to October) shows that the government’s efforts to reduce coal imports are yielding results. Coal imports have decreased by 3.1%, totalling 149.39 million tonnes (MT) compared to 154.17 MT in the same period of the previous year.
More notably, imports by the Non-Regulated Sector (excluding the power sector) witnessed a sharp decline of 8.8%. Despite the growth in coal-based power generation, which rose by 3.87% from April to October 2024 compared to the same period in FY 2023-24, the thermal power plants saw a 19.5% decrease in coal imports for blending. This decline underscores India’s efforts to become more self-sufficient in coal production.
Despite the overall decline in coal imports, there was an increase in coal imports specifically for the power sector. The rise was particularly marked for imported coal-based power plants, with imports surging by 38.4%, from 21.71 MT in FY 2023-24 to 30.04 MT in FY 2024-25. This increase reflects the ongoing demand for coal in power generation, particularly from plants that rely on imported coal.
On the production front, India has seen positive growth, with coal output rising by 6.04% to reach 537.57 MT during the April-October 2024 period, up from 506.93 MT during the same period in FY 2023-24. This growth signals the government’s success in increasing domestic production to reduce dependency on imports and improve energy security.
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Published on: Jan 14, 2025, 2:53 PM IST
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