New Delhi: India’s overall coal production has seen a quantum jump to 893.08 MT in FY 2022-23 as compared to 728.72 MT in FY 2018-2019 with a growth of about 22.6 per cent. The priority of the Coal Ministry is to enhance the domestic coal production to reduce the dependence on substitutable coal imports.

In the last five years, the production of Coal India Limited (CIL) has increased by 703.21 MT (million tonnes) as compared to 606.89 MT in FY 2018-2019 with a growth of 15.9 per cent. SCCL has shown impressive growth at 67.14 MT in FY 2022-23 from 64.40 MT in FY 2018-19 with a growth of 4.3 per cent. Captive and other mines have also taken a lead in coal production by 122.72 MT in FY 2022-23 from 57.43 MT in FY 2018-19 with a growth of 113.7 per cent.

The Ministry of Coal has initiated several measures to ramp up domestic coal production to achieve self-reliance to meet the demand of all sectors and ensure adequate coal stocks at thermal power plants. The exceptional growth in coal production has paved the way for energy security of the nation. The annual coal production target set for the FY 2023- 2024 is 1012 MT.

Apart from this, the Ministry is proactively involved in promoting sustainable development in conjunction with coal production, by emphasizing on environmental protection, resource conservation, societal welfare, and measures to preserve our forests and biodiversity. 

The Ministry of Coal has also formulated a strategy to develop an integrated approach for eliminating road transportation of coal in mines and has taken steps to upgrade mechanized coal transportation and loading systems under 'first mile connectivity' projects. /BI/