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The Coal Ministry plans to supply around 130 million tonnes (mt) of coal to the non-power sector (NPS) industries such as steel, cement and sponge iron in the current financial year, ending March 2023. So far, the despatch to the NPS has been around 61 mt.
As per the latest provisional data, coal despatch to NPS industries stood at 48.66 mt, down 13 per cent y-o-y, during the April-October period of FY23.
“Providing coal to the power sector is very important; it is crucial for the overall development of the country. The non-Power sector (NPS) is also an important component of the industry. We have been consistently raising the supply to them,” Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi told the businessline.
In FY19, the coal supply to NPS stood at 116 mt, which declined marginally to 115 mt in FY20. The despatch again increased to 128 mt in FY21 and 121.7 mt in FY22, he added.
“This year we will also exceed our previous numbers. So far, we have supplied around 61 mt to the NPS, which we will take up to approximately 130 mt in FY23,” the minister said.
Coal production
Emphasising that coal is important for India’s economic development, Joshi pointed out that the commodity is the mainstay for power generation.
“All put together, total coal dispatch in 2014 was 572 mt, and this year (FY22), India achieved 817 mt. In the ongoing year (FY23), the total production put together, we are going to achieve domestic coal production of 900 mt, inclusive of commercial, captive, abundant mines and Coal India,” the minister said.
Joshi stressed that coal will continue to be a key commodity for India for the next 30-40 years, and it is important that production keeps pace with demand so that imports can be stopped.
The Coal Ministry has set a target to produce 1.3 billion tonnes by FY25 and 1.5 billion tonnes by FY30.
Keeping in view the increased demand for the key commodity going ahead, the ministry is also working on developing a National Coal Logistic Plan including First Mile Connectivity (FMC) through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening the rail network in coal fields.
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