Coal imports increase 2.2% to 111.2 million tonnes in April-August

Coal imports rose by 2.2 per cent to 111.20 million tonnes in the April-August period of the current fiscal compared to 108.81 million tonnes in the year-ago period, an official release said on Tuesday.

However, the non-regulated sector saw a 10.3 per cent drop during the April-August period as compared to the same period of last year, the coal ministry said in the release.

In value terms, the price of overall imported coal during April-August 2024-25 was Rs 120,532.21 crore.

Despite a growth of 4.97 per cent in coal-based power generation from April to September 2024 compared to the same period last year, imports for blending purposes decreased to 9.79 MT compared to last year which was 10.70 MT indicating a decline of 8.5 per cent during the same period.

"This decline underscores India's steadfast commitment to achieving self-sufficiency in coal production and reducing reliance on imports," it said.

The increase in coal import for the power sector is attributed to the import of coal by imported thermal power plants (designed to utilise imported coal only) i.e. 26.14 MT during this period, up from 17.07 MT, reaching a growth of 53.1 per cent in the corresponding timeframe last year.

The measures taken by the government to increase domestic coal output will ultimately reduce dependence on imports and contribute to the overall sustainability of India's energy landscape.