India is the second-largest coal producer in the world after China. Fossil fuel remains the mainstay of the country’s energy sector fordecades. However recently, India is witnessing a huge power crisis due to a huge demand-supply gap prevalent in the coal industry. To address this scenario, the Ministry of Coal has been highlighting the significance of increasing domestic coal production to meet the country’s energy needs and reduce dependence on imported coal.

 

According to Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi, it is projected that Coal India (CIL) will achieve the country’s coal production target of 1 billion tonnes by 2025-26. This will help increase domestic production of coal, reduce non-essential coal imports and achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency.The coal mines in India have already accelerated their pace of production and CIL is utilising all resources available to achieve its target. As a result, the country witnessed record-high coal production in 2022-23.

 

The overall coal production across India was over 893 million tonnes during this period as compared to 778 million tonnes in 2021-22. This is a growth of more than 14%. The Union Minister reported that nine states have witnessed extensive growth in their mining activities which facilitated this remarkable achievement. The Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana and Maharashtra have reported an increase in their coal production compared to the previous year.

 

On the contrary, coal production in Jammu and Kashmir has decreased in comparison to 2021-22. The Union Minister highlighted that most of the country’s coal requirements are fulfilled via indigenous coal production and supply. However, the government aims to increase its coal production to reduce reliance on imports. If coal is produced substantially within the country, the need for non-essential coal imports will decrease over time. This is regarded as another step towards becoming “Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

 

Under the plan to achieve 1 BT in coal production, Coal India has already initiated stringent actions to utilise all the resources available. This includes Environment and Forest Clearance, rail projects, land acquisition, etc. Various evacuation infrastructures are also underway such as advanced mechanical loading through SILO/CHP. These projects are aimed to contribute towards the target of achieving 1 BT in coal production.

 

The Maharatna firm has received environment clearance for an additional coal production capacity of 144.23 million tonnes per annum and 101 proposals. Coal India has already acquired around 8,893 hectares of land and initiated 9 First Mile Connectivity projects having a capacity of 127 million tonnes per annum. Stage-I FC has been granted for 15 proposals which include forest land of 2,498.2 hectares. On the other hand, Stage-II FC has been granted for another 25 proposals which include diversion of around 3.997.95 hectares of forest land.

 

 

Despite the coal ministry’s objective to increase domestic coal production and eliminate dependence on imports, India cannot give away imports right away. This is primarily because the country lacks quality reserves of coking coal and has to import it from other countries like Indonesia. Additionally, coal imports facilitated by companies like Agarwal Coal which is led by Vinod Agarwal, are enabling the country to meet significant power crises in recent times. 

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