India’s coal production shoots past 370 million tonnes in 2024

New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) Ministry of Coal said on Tuesday that the country’s cumulative coal production for the financial year 2024-25, as of Aug 25 has shot up by 7.12 per cent to 370.67 million tonnes compared to 346.02 million tonnes (MT) during the same period in FY 2023-24.

The overall coal dispatch from the mines to the consumption centres has also recorded a substantial rise to 397.06 MT as of August 25. This represents a growth rate of 5.48 per cent compared to the previous year's dispatch of 376.44 MT.

In terms of coal dispatch to the power sector, the cumulative achievement for FY 2024-25, as of August 25, 2024, amounts to 325.97 MT, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, which was 313.44 MT.

This growth has been achieved despite a huge opening storage of 47 MT at thermal power plants as of April 1, 2024. This ensures a steady supply of coal to meet the energy requirements of the power sector, the official statement said.

The overall coal stock position, including pitheads at mines, power plants, and in transit, reached 121.57 MT as of August 25. This represents a substantial increase of 36.2 per cent compared to the stock of 89.28 MT in the same period of last year.

Additionally, coal stock at thermal power plants stands at 37.55MT, compared to 29.47 MT last year, indicating a significant growth of about 27.41 per cent, the statement added.

The continuous growth in production, dispatch, and stock levels ensures a reliable supply to power plants and reduces outages. This in turn helps to increase production both in the industrial and farm sectors.

India’s coal production increased by a robust 11.7 per cent to scale a record level of 997.83 million tonnes during the financial year ended on March 31 this year as the Government focuses on increasing domestic production of the fuel to eliminate non-essential imports of coal in the country.

As per the official data, coal production has risen steadily in the last four years from 730.9 million tonnes in 2019-20. The double-digit increase has been carried over to the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year with a growth of 10.75 per cent to 247.396 MT.

=The steps taken by the government to step up coal production in the country include a single window clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines.