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NEW DELHI: India will become self-sufficient in thermal coal in the next financial year as domestic production is set to top a billion tonne and will rise further to meet future demand, coal and mines minister Prahlad Joshi said on Friday.
“Substitutable coal imports will stop by 2024-25. This is the Narendra Modi government’s guarantee. Domestic coal production will cross 1 billion tonne (bt) for the first time this financial year (2023-24 ending March 31). However, import of a very small quantity of coking coal (used by the steel and cement industries) will continue because we don’t have that quality of coal,” minister for coal and mines Pralhad Joshi told TOI.
On the power ministry‘s order asking generation units to import coal for blending with domestic fuel, Joshi said he was aware of the circular. “I feel it was done as a precautionary measure. Though it is there, we are fulfilling our annual contracts, sometimes delivering more,” he said.
Asked about future demand in view of the power ministry’s aim to build about 30 GW (gigawatts) of additional coal-fired generation capacity on top of 50 GW under various stages of construction, Joshi said, “Whatever will be the new generation capacity, when it comes that demand will be met with domestic coal and there will be no need for imports.”
He said supplies from mines auctioned for commercial production, which started in 2020, will also boost availability. “The first commercial mine started in 2020. This year they will contribute 15 million tonnes (mt) and will keep rising. All things put together, we will reach 1.2 billion by 2027-28. That is more than sufficient for that point,” he said.
The coal ministry has a target of producing 1.4 bt of coal by 2027 and 1.5 bt by 2030, keeping in view additional demand of 400 mt.
The minister said there was no proposal to allow state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) to increase coal prices in view of rising operational and wage costs. “There is no such proposal on the table at this point. For example, the price of diesel, a key input, varies. All these things have to be studied,” he said. CIL meets bulk of the coal demand for power generation and any change in the regulated prices impacts electricity tariffs.
Speaking on his mines portfolio, Joshi said the second tranche of critical mineral block auction will be out soon and India will soon sign deals for acquiring such mines overseas along with technology.
“Substitutable coal imports will stop by 2024-25. This is the Narendra Modi government’s guarantee. Domestic coal production will cross 1 billion tonne (bt) for the first time this financial year (2023-24 ending March 31). However, import of a very small quantity of coking coal (used by the steel and cement industries) will continue because we don’t have that quality of coal,” minister for coal and mines Pralhad Joshi told TOI.
On the power ministry‘s order asking generation units to import coal for blending with domestic fuel, Joshi said he was aware of the circular. “I feel it was done as a precautionary measure. Though it is there, we are fulfilling our annual contracts, sometimes delivering more,” he said.
Asked about future demand in view of the power ministry’s aim to build about 30 GW (gigawatts) of additional coal-fired generation capacity on top of 50 GW under various stages of construction, Joshi said, “Whatever will be the new generation capacity, when it comes that demand will be met with domestic coal and there will be no need for imports.”
He said supplies from mines auctioned for commercial production, which started in 2020, will also boost availability. “The first commercial mine started in 2020. This year they will contribute 15 million tonnes (mt) and will keep rising. All things put together, we will reach 1.2 billion by 2027-28. That is more than sufficient for that point,” he said.
The coal ministry has a target of producing 1.4 bt of coal by 2027 and 1.5 bt by 2030, keeping in view additional demand of 400 mt.
The minister said there was no proposal to allow state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) to increase coal prices in view of rising operational and wage costs. “There is no such proposal on the table at this point. For example, the price of diesel, a key input, varies. All these things have to be studied,” he said. CIL meets bulk of the coal demand for power generation and any change in the regulated prices impacts electricity tariffs.
Speaking on his mines portfolio, Joshi said the second tranche of critical mineral block auction will be out soon and India will soon sign deals for acquiring such mines overseas along with technology.
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