India’s coal production not just surged past the magical 900 million tonnes (mt) on Wednesday, but also surpassed the FY23 output of 893.19 mt bringing India closer to its 1 billion tonnes (bt) target in FY24, ending March 31.
“Coal production in India has reached an unprecedented milestone, crossing 900 mt as on March 6, 2024, setting the stage to approach the ambitious 1 bt target by March 31, 2024. Notably, during the current fiscal year, India has achieved a remarkable feat by surpassing last year’s coal production of 893.19 mt, twenty-seven days in advance,” Coal Ministry said.
Last month, coal production surged to 803.79 mt on February 6, showcasing a notable increase from the 717.23 mt recorded during February 6 last year, reflecting an impressive growth of 12.07 per cent. The production figure of 800 mt was achieved on March 8, 2023 (30 days in advance).
“Additionally, there is ample coal stock of around 85 mt available with coal companies, while domestic coal-based thermal power plants maintain coal stocks of 43.28 mt as of March 5, 2024, ensuring uninterrupted power supply across the country,” the Ministry said.
The sufficient coal stock and record-breaking coal production facilitate meeting the escalating electricity demand, especially during peak consumption periods, thereby fostering stability in the energy sector and supporting economic growth, it added.
Besides, the coal sector demonstrated the highest growth of 10.2 per cent (provisional) among the eight core industries for January 2024 as per the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) (Base Year 2011-12).
The index of coal industry has reached 218.9 points during January 2024 as compared to 198.6 points during the same period last year and its cumulative index has increased by 12.2 per cent during April to January, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year.
“The driving force behind this remarkable growth can be attributed to a significant surge in coal production during January 2024, with output reaching an impressive 99.73 mt, marking a remarkable increase of 10.20 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year,” the Ministry noted.
This surge in production underscores the sector’s capacity to meet growing demand of energy and manufacturing industries, it added.