India's coal imports drop, saving Rs 60,700 Cr; output hits 1bn tonne

India's coal imports have reduced, saving Rs 60,700 crore in forex, announced Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Coal production crossed the 1 billion tonne mark for the first time in 2024-25, with domestic coal stocks at a record high.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while announcing the Cabinet decisions on Friday highlighted that the coal imports as per cent of consumption is reducing consistently. In 2024-25, imports reduced by 7.9% resulting in forex saving of about Rs 60,700 Crore. Highlighting the Rail-Coal partnership, the minister noted that 823 million tonne coal last year was transported via Rail. "Coal stocks at domestic power plants are also at record high," the minister said.

Record Coal Production and Declining Imports

India crossed the landmark of 1 billion tonne coal production in a single year for the first time in 2024-25. In his presentation, the minister said the total production in 2024-25 was recorded at 1.048 billion tonnes.

Minister Vaishnaw also shared a graph in his presentation showing the gradual shift towards greater reliance on domestic coal. As per the data shown, in FY15, coal imports accounted for 26% of total consumption. This share declined to 24.4% in FY16 and further to 22.8% in FY17. It rose marginally to 23.2% in FY18 and 24.3% in FY19, before peaking again at 26% in FY20. From FY21 onwards, coal imports as a percentage of consumption declined sharply. The share fell to 23.8% in FY21 and dropped significantly to 20.3% in FY22, marking one of the lowest levels in the decade. Although there was a slight uptick to 21.3% in FY23 and 21.2% in FY24, the overall trend remained downward. By FY25, coal imports accounted for just 19.2% of total consumption, the lowest level in the period under review.

New Policy for Coal Linkage Auction

The Union Cabinet also approved a new policy titled Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU). "The Policy will allow allocation of coal linkages on auction basis on long-term for any industrial use and export by adding a separate window named CoalSETU in the NRS (Non-Regulated Sector) Linkage Auction Policy of 2016 wherein any domestic buyer requiring coal can participate in the linkage auction," it said.

Notably, the coking coal shall not be offered under this window. (ANI)

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