India coal import bill down by over 14%

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NEW DELHI: India’s coal import bill came down by over 14% or R8,287 crore during April-October, 2015 from a year ago, thanks to double-digit growth in domestic coal production. According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), thermal coal imports stood at 108.36 million tonne (MT) in the first seven months of the fiscal, compared to 114 MT in the corresponding period last year. Consequently, the value for coal imports came down to R49,676 crore from R57, 963 crore, in what could augur well for the country’s current account. Along with the surge in gold imports, imports of ‘black gold’ too had in recent years caused a strain on the current account.
In the first seven months of the current fiscal, coal imports have remained lower than the year-ago period for every month except in May and June. India imported 212.10 MT of dry fuel worth over R1 lakh crore last fiscal.
Domestic coal production from government-owned coal miners, which included Coal India and Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL), grew by 10.7% for April-October period to 306 MT. However, the production from captive coal mines halved to 15.16 MT in the same period compared to the previous year, primarily owing to delays in the handover of clearances to the new owners of the mines post-coal auction earlier this year.
Higher production complemented by similar growth in coal evacuation reflected in the coal stock position at power plants. Coal availability at power plants nearly quadrupled to 23.8 MT for the first seven months of the fiscal. This stock is estimated to be sufficient for 19 days of power generation compared with five days worth of stock in the same period last year.
The coal production target for FY16 is at 700 MT, which includes production from CIL, SCCL, captive and other sources. For April-October period, nearly 47% of the target or 328.10 MT has been met, primarily dragged down by decline in production from the captive mines.