New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) India’s total coal production has already crossed the 1 billion tonnes (BT) mark in the financial year 2024-25, and the coal output of the country’s largest company, Coal India Limited (CIL), is targeted to cross the 1 billion tonnes mark by 2026-27, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy told the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, that Coal India Ltd produced 781.07 million tonnes in 2024-25 and the target for 2026-27 has been fixed at 1004.00 billion tonnes.

He further stated that most of the requirement of coal in the country is met through indigenous coal production. Import of coal mainly consists of essential imports like coking coal and higher grade non-coking coal, as their domestic production is limited due to either scarce reserves or non-availability. In order to meet future demand for coal through indigenous sources and to reduce non-essential imports of coal, domestic coal production is expected to grow by 6-7 per cent annually in the next few years to reach about 1.5 billion tonnes by 2029-30.

The all-India domestic coal production in the year 2024-2025 was 1047.67 million tonnes (MT) in comparison to 997.83 MT in the year 2023-2024, with the growth of about 4.99 per cent.

The minister said that the government has initiated several steps to ramp up domestic coal production and to eliminate non-essential imports of coal in the country.

Some of the major initiatives undertaken include Single Window Clearance, amendment of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 to allow captive mines to sell up to 50 per cent of their annual production after meeting the requirement of the end-use plants, production through MDO mode, increasing use of mass production technologies, new projects and expansion of existing projects, and auction of coal blocks to private companies and PSUs for commercial mining. As part of the economic reforms, 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment has also been allowed for commercial mining to increase production.

–IANS

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