Import of coal stood at 191.95 million tonnes (MT) in 2016-17 on account of higher production by Coal India (CIL). This is a decline compared to import of 203.95 MT in 2015-16 fiscal. The country has moved from a regime of coal scarcity to a coal surplus situation.
Thermal and steam coal imports have fallen 17.37% at the top 12 major ports to 29.82 MT during April-July this fiscal, according to the Indian Ports Association (IPA). Handling of coking coal, used mainly in steel-making, has also dipped 4.45% to 16.51 MT.
Against the demand of 884.87 MT of coal, the total domestic production stood at 659.27 MT. The Centre has announced plans to boost CIL’s annual production to the level of 1 billion tonnes by 2019 to meet the growing fuel demand.