The total domestic coal production in 2022-23, as of 31 May 2022, is 137.85 MT, which is 28.6 per cent more compared to the output of 104.83 MT in the same period of last year.
This trend is also being maintained in June 2022, as the coal production by Coal India Ltd (CIL) is 28 per cent more than the production in the same period of the previous year.
After a record-breaking coal production of 777 Million Ton (MT) in 2021-22, domestic coal production continues to witness an increasing trend in the current financial year.
It must be noted that the domestic coal production target for the current financial year is 911 MT which is 17.2 per cent more than the previous year.
“The coal imports for blending by the Domestic Coal Based (DCB) power plants have dropped to 8.11MT in the year 2021-22 which has been the lowest coal import in the last eight years. This was possible solely due to the robust coal supply from domestic sources and increased domestic coal production,” the Ministry of Coal said.
According to the ministry, the high price of coal in the international market has affected coal imports. The Imported Coal Based (ICB) power plants imported more than 45 MT per year from 2016-17 to 2019-20. However, coal imports by the ICB power plants dropped to the lowest level of 18.89 MT in 2021-22 due to high coal prices.