India's coal imports fall for seventh straight month in January

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's coal imports fell for a seven straight month in January, a government official said, as the world's third-biggest buyer of the fuel expands domestic mines to improve output and boost power generation.

India shipped in 16.11 million tonnes of coal last month, a 28.6 percent decline from the same month a year ago.

"Increased production by Coal India results in decrease in import of coal," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said on Twitter on Friday, referring to the state-owned company.

(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)