After expecting to achieve a coking coal production target of 77 million mt in the fiscal year 2024-25, India’s ministry of coal has set a target of achieving an output of 105 million mt by 2029-30, the ministry said in its year-end review of the coal sector on Tuesday, December 31.
The ministry will focus on modernization and renovation of the existing ageing washeries of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), which have surpassed their designed lifespan, for their optimal utilization to make more high-quality coal available in the country, it said in the review.
It is also focusing on supply of coal to the steel sector through the non-regulated sector (NRS) linkage auction route to promote domestic coking coal for steel production and implementation of reforms in the auction process with the aim of substitution of coking coal imports, it said.
The coal ministry has also auctioned 14 coking coal blocks to the private sector and these blocks are expected to start production by 2028-29.
During the calendar year 2024 (up to December 15, 2024), the coal mining industry supplied about 963.11 million mt of coal as compared to about 904.61 million mt during the same period of last year, with a growth of about 6.47 percent.
The coal supply to the non-regulated sector including steel during the calendar year was 171.236 million mt, compared to 149.573 million mt during the same period of last year, with a growth of 14.48 percent, according to the yearly review report.