Power sector crisis could become a drag on India's economic growth

The coal shortage could worsen the power crisis in the coming months. According to news reports, an internal assessment of the power ministry shows the shortage could increase in the September quarter, which can lead to widespread outages. The domestic production of coal is unable to keep pace with rising power demand. As ground reports from various industrial hubs in this newspaper have shown, small businesses are suffering because of the non-availability of reliable power. Power shortage is the last thing Indian businesses, recovering from the pandemic-induced disruption, need. A continued shortage will delay the recovery and may push smaller