Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India. It accounts for 55% of the country's energy need. The country's industrial heritage was built upon indigenous coal.
Commercial primary energy consumption in India has grown by about 700% in the last four decades. The current per capita commercial primary energy consumption in India is about 350 kgoe/year which is lesser than that of developed countries.
Through sustained programme of investment and greater thrust on application of modern technologies, it has been possible to raise the all India production of coal at 730.87 million tonnes in 2019-20 (Provisional). The all India production of coal during 2020-21 were 716.08 MT (Provisional) with a negative growth of 2.03%.
Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries accounted for 602.13 million tonnes during 2019-20 as compared to a production of 606.89 million tonnes in 2018-19. Coal production of CIL during 2020-21 were 596.22 MT(Provisional) with a negative growth of 0.98%.
Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is the main source for supply of coal to the southern region. The company produced 64.04 million tonnes of coal during 2019-20 as against 64.40 million tonnes during the corresponding period last year. SCCL production of coal during 2020-21 was 50.58 MT(Provisional) with a negative growth was 21.02. Small quantities of coal are also produced by TISCO, IISCO, DVC and others.
Indian coal offers a unique ecofriendly fuel source to domestic energy market for the next century and beyond. Hard coal deposit spread over 27 major coalfields, are mainly confined to eastern and south central parts of the country. The lignite reserves stand at a level around 36 billion tonnes, of which 90 % occur in the southern State of Tamil Nadu.
As per the present Import policy, coal can be freely imported (under Open General Licence) by the consumers themselves considering their needs based on their commercial prudence.
Coking Coal is being imported by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and other Steel manufacturing units mainly to bridge the gap between the requirement and indigenous availability and to improve the quality. Coal based power plants, cement plants, captive power plants, sponge iron plants, industrial consumers and coal traders are importing non-coking coal. Coke is imported mainly by Pig-Iron manufacturers and Iron & Steel sector consumers using mini-blast furnace.
Driven by the rising population, expanding economy and a quest for improved quality of life, energy usage in India is expected to rise. Considering the limited reserve potentiality of petroleum & natural gas, eco-conservation restriction on hydel project and geo-political perception of nuclear power, coal will continue to occupy centre-stage of India 's energy scenario.
The major flagship initiatives which are taken up by the committee are
- India Coal Summit
- India Minerals & Metals Forum
- India MineTech
All the above initiatives provide an appropriate platform to the stakeholders and acts as a catalyst between the Government and Industry to create a conducive business environment. The committee actively works on important policy recommendation for the sector adding value and growth for the sectoral development.
