In April of this year, India's coal output increased 8.67% year over year to a record 73.02 million tonnes.
According to a statement from the coal ministry, “India's coal production has made a new record for the highest production during the month of April 2023, achieving 73.02 million tonnes (MT) of coal with a growth of 8.67% as compared to 67.20 MT during April 2022.”
In April 2023, Coal India Ltd (CIL) recorded output of 57.57 MT, up 7.67% from April 2022's production of 53.47 MT, it said.
By better utilising the mining capabilities of captive/private coal blocks, the Ministry of Coal has paved the way for the release of additional coal onto the market, which has resulted in an increase in coal production of 17.52% to 9.88 MT (provisional figure) in April 2023 compared to 8.41 MT in April 2022.
The total coal dispatch (supply), which increased from 71.99 MT in April 2022 to 80.45 MT in April 2023, saw an increase of 11.76%.
This is mostly because to the measures made by the ministry under PM Gati Shakti to upgrade the rail link infrastructure for all significant mines to allow quicker evacuation.
The coal ministry has signed 29 agreements for mines that were up for sale in the 6th round of auction, and it has submitted 103 coal/lignite blocks for auction under the 7th round of auction in an effort to increase the supply of coal.
29 coal mines produce 74 million tonnes of PRC annually.
PRC refers to a coal mine's maximum production capacity, or, to put it another way, the most coal that can be extracted from it each year.
It claimed that efforts by the government to boost local production will reduce the country's reliance on imported coal and save a significant amount of foreign currency.
