India’s imports of non-coking coal fell by 23.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 125.61 million tonnes during April-January period of FY 21-22.
“With considerable increase in domestic coal production, India has achieved significant reduction in import of coal despite surge in power demand,” the Union Coal Ministry’s official statement was quoted in a report by ANI.
The domestic coal-based power generation till January 2022 stands at 815.72 billion units in this fiscal. It marks a 12.55 per cent increase from the corresponding period of FY 20-21.
Similarly, the imported coal-based power generation has reduced by 35.13 per cent YoY in the given time of the ongoing financial year.
Meanwhile, the import of non-coking coal has cut down by over 60 per cent up to January 2022 as compared to FY 20.
“All efforts are on to further enhance domestic coal production as availability of additional coal will aid in import-substitution,” the ministry further told as per the news agency.
Amidst all this, India has managed to bring down the overall import of coal by 16.42 per cent YoY from April-January of FY 21-22.
This has reportedly helped the government to make significant savings of forex reserves as coal prices are touching new highs in the international market.