Coal shipments at major ports rise 11 pc to 161 MT in FY19

Coal shipments handled by India's 12 major ports saw a 10.81 per cent rise to 161.34 million tonne (MT) in the previous financial year, according to ports' body IPA.

These top ports under the control of the Centre had handled 145.59 MT of coal cargo in 2017-18.

Shipments of thermal or steam coal and coking coal rose 9 per cent and 14.25 per cent, respectively, during 2018-19.

The Indian Ports Association (IPA) said the major ports handled 103.84 MT of thermal or steam coal during the financial year, compared with 95.26 MT in the previous fiscal.

IPA in its latest report said the major ports handled shipments of 57.50 MT of coking coal during 2018-19, against 50.33 MT in the previous fiscal.

Thermal coal is the mainstay of the country's energy programme as 70 per cent of power generation is dependent on the dry fuel, while coking coal is used mainly for steel-making.

India is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US and has 299 billion tonne of resources and 123 ...