Fall in coal imports in FY25 led to forex savings worth ₹60,681 crore, says coal minister

Mint

a day ago

India's coal imports in 2024-25 fell nearly 8% to 243.62 million tonnes, leading to foreign exchange savings of over ₹ 60,681.67 crore, said G. Kishan Reddy, the Union minister for coal and mines, on Monday.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister noted that the imports stood at 264.53 million tonnes in 2023-24.
'During 2024-25, India imported 243.62 million tonnes of coal, compared to 264.53 million tonnes in 2023-24. Due to the reduction of around 20.91 million tonnes in coal imports, there has been a forex savings of around ₹ 60,681.67 crore during 2024-25 compared to 2023-24,' Reddy said.
The fall in imports comes amid the rise in domestic production. India's coal production reached 1.047 billion tonnes in the last fiscal year, nearly 5% higher than 997.83 million tonnes in 2023-24.
The minister said most of the country's coal requirement is currently met through indigenous production and supplies. The ministry of coal has set an ambitious domestic coal production target of about 1.5 billion tonnes by 2029-30.
The focus of the government is on increasing the domestic production of coal and reducing non-essential coal imports. The ministry of coal launched the Coal Logistics Plan and Policy in February 2024 to develop infrastructure for efficient coal evacuation, considering increased coal production projection by 2029-30," he said.
The minister also outlined steps taken by the Centre to increase domestic coal production.
He noted that, in addition to regular reviews by the coal ministry to expedite the development of coal blocks, the government has taken several regulatory measures in the past few years, including the enactment of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021.
State-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) has adopted a number of measures to increase coal production, including the adoption of new and modern technologies like mass production technologies (MPT) with the deployment of continuous miners, longwalls, and highwalls wherever feasible, he said, adding that digital transformation has been implemented on apilot scale in seven of its mega mines.
"Regular liaison is being undertaken by Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd for expediting the grant of permissions and clearances for the grounding of new projects and the operation of existing projects. SCCL has initiated action for developing infrastructure for the evacuation of coal, like coal handling plants (CHPs), crushers, mobile crushers, pre-weigh-bins, etc.," Reddy said.