Coal India (CIL), which accounts for more than 80% of domestic coal output, has been mandated by the government to replace at least 100 million metric tons (mt) of imports with domestically produced coal in the ongoing fiscal year. The country imported 247.1 million mt of coal in 2019-2020, about 5% higher than 235.35 million mt imported during 2018-2019.
India’s coal import declined by 34.9% to 12.46 million mt in August due to subdued demand for the dry fuel from consuming sectors like power and cement. Also, the first five months of the current fiscal year saw a 32.51% decline in coal imports at 73.08 million mt, over 108.29 millin mt during the same period a year ago, it said. Of the total imports in August, non-coking coal’s shipment was at 8.87 million mt and coking coal at 2.18 million mt. To boost coal demand, the government has announced a slew of measures like increased supply for linkage consumers.
The Centre had also announced several relief measures for CIL consumers, including the power sector.
