Coal imports could cross 50 MT by 2012

The coal ministry has projected a steep rise in coking coal imports.

This rise would push India's total imports of coal to over 50 million tonnes (MT) by 2011-12, which is about 14 per cent higher than India's coal imports of 44 MT in 2006-07.

Though India is a coal-rich country, it imports both, coking coal (used in steel plants) and non-coking coal (used to fire power plants).

The coal ministry's projection is lower than the coal imports of 86 MT projected by CRISIL Research.

According to a coal ministry official, the imports will rise despite the "present production growth rate of 5 per cent, the best that the country has ever seen".

Coal would remain the most important source of commercial energy in India. However, in order to meet the demand of an economy with 9 per cent GDP growth, coal production needs to grow at the same rate. "That is a very difficult task," said the official.

"The country would require 731 MT of coal by 2011-12, while domestic coal production is projected at 680 MT," the official said, adding that the "production needs to go up anywhere between 1.7 and 2 billion tonnes in the next 25 years".

According to industry analysts, the country could up production by exploring and exploiting more reserves, with only 50 per cent of potential coal reserves explored. India coal reserves are estimated at 255 billion tonnes, of which 98 billion tonnes are proven reserves.

However, according to SK Chand, a fellow at TERI (formerly Tata Energy Research Institute), it is a myth that India's coal reserves are huge and the country can have more coal if sufficient exploration efforts are made.