Tuesday, 14 Jan, 2025
The year 2023–2024 saw the nation's highest coal production to date. Image Source: IANS
The cumulative coal production up to December 2024 also witnessed substantial growth, reaching 726.29 MT in FY 2024-25, compared to 684.45 MT during the corresponding period of FY 2023-24, reflecting an increase of 6.11 percent.
Reinforcing its commitment to achieve the energy security of the nation, the Ministry of Coal has reported remarkable growth in overall coal production and dispatch during the month of December 2024. With a growth rate of 5.33 percent, the total amount of coal produced in December 2024 surpassed the 92.98 MT produced in the same month the year before, reaching 97.94 MT. Captive and other mines produced 18.95 MT, reflecting a significant growth of 29.61 percent compared to 14.62 MT in the corresponding period of the last year. The cumulative coal production up to December 2024 also witnessed substantial growth, reaching 726.29 MT in FY 2024-25, compared to 684.45 MT during the corresponding period of FY 2023-24, reflecting an increase of 6.11 percent.
When it came to coal dispatch, the numbers for December 24 increased by 6.36 percent to 92.59 MT from 87.06 MT in December 2023. Compared to the same period previous year, the amount of dispatch from captive and other mines increased by 31.83 percent to 18.13 MT. Additionally, the cumulative coal dispatch up to December 2024 reached 750.75 MT in FY 2024-25, compared to 711.07 MT in FY 2023-24, recording an impressive growth of 5.58 percent.
Source: Ministry of Coal
For the 2008–09 to 2013–14 timeframe, the coal output CAGR was 2.8 percent. If this pattern had continued, just 725.39 MT of coal would have been produced in 2022–2023. Because of the government's consistent proactive efforts, production has increased at a 5.20 percent CAGR, peaking at 893.19 MT in 2022–23 and further to 997 MT in 2023-24.
The year 2023–2024 saw the nation's highest coal production to date. In 2023-24, the total amount of coal produced in India was 997.826 million MT, an increase of around 11.71 percent from 893.191 MT in 2022-23. The nation produced roughly 988.32 MT of coal during the Calendar Year 2024 (up to December 15, 2024 from January 2024), which is a rise of roughly 7.66 percent from the 918.02 MT produced during the same period last year.
Source: Ministry of Coal
It is anticipated that domestic raw coking coal production will reach 140 MT by 2030 thanks to the Ministry of Coal's revolutionary "Atmanirbhar Bharat" initiatives. The total domestic raw coking coal production during the financial year 2023-24 is 66.821 MT. The domestic raw coking coal production target for the financial year 2024-25 is 77 MT. In light of the steel industry's anticipated need, the Ministry of Coal established "Mission Coking Coal" to increase domestic coking coal output and decrease imports. By FY 2029–2030, this objective seeks to raise domestic output of raw coking coal to 140 MT.
Making a significant advancement in coal mine safety management, the Ministry of Coal launched the National Coal Mines Safety Report Portal on December 17, 2024 at the 49th Standing Committee on Safety in Coal Mines. The portal monitors actions based on recommendations from various inquiries, aiming to reduce accidents and improve safety practices across the industry.
By replacing imported coal with domestically mined coal, the Ministry of Coal hopes to boost India's energy security and promote Atma-Nirbhar Bharat by producing 1.3 billion tons of domestic coal by FY 2027 and 1.5 billion tons by FY 2030. Given the anticipated need for coal, the current evacuation infrastructure could not be sufficient to meet the demand in the best possible way, which could be problematic. In order to optimize the overall logistics cost of coal movement at the national level, it was essential to reassess the logistics infrastructure that was currently available across all transportation modes of coal evacuation in an integrated manner and to plan for the sustainable development of future infrastructure that capitalizes on the strengths of various modes.
As a result, a comprehensive Origin-Destination study for the freight movement of coal has been conducted. Based on scientific data, a congestion analysis was conducted, and gaps in the railway infrastructure for all currently operating blocks were identified. Additionally, it was suggested that these blocks be operationalized to meet the nation's peak production requirements.
The goal of the logistics policy and plan is to create a reliable, integrated, cost-effective, resilient, sustainable, and technologically enabled logistics environment for coal evacuation. In FY2030, this strategy framework seeks to accelerate the coal sector's supply and demand. Coal Logistics Policy and Integrated Coal Action Plan was launched on February 29, 2024.
The Ministry of Coal continues to remain at the forefront of projects to boost output, guarantee smooth delivery, and meet the country's expanding energy needs. The Ministry of Coal's ongoing efforts to increase coal output and ensure smooth delivery are a testament to India's commitment to satisfying its energy needs and promoting ongoing economic progress. The sincere efforts taken by the government towards ensuring adequate supply of coal in the country shows that it is not very difficult for the government to achieve the target of domestically producing 1.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2030.
