Coal output up 8.9%, supply rises 11.7% in April
By Manish Gupta
India’s coal production jumped 8.85% to 73.14 million tonne (MT) in April 2023 and the total coal despatch during the month went up 11.66% to 80.35 MT as against the corresponding figures in the previous year.
In April 2022, coal production stood at 67.20 MT and the coal supply was 71.96 MT, as per the coal ministry. The coal production in April 2023 was 94.89% of 77.08 MT target for the month. The full FY24 production target is 1,012 MT.
Coal India and subsidiaries together produced 57.57 MT of coal in April 2023, up 7.67% from 53.47 MT in April 2022. Their despatch went up 8.57% to 62.35 MT as compared to 57.43 MT in April 2022, the coal ministry data showed.
The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) extracted 5.57 MT of coal, up 4.77% from 5.32 MT in April last year. The coal output by captive mines stood at 10 MT in April, an increase of 18.93% from 8.41 MT in April 2022.
The coal despatch to power utilities went up 6.66% from 61.33 MT in April last year to 65.41 MT last month due to improvement in rail connectivity between the major coal producing mines and the power generation companies.
Coal based power generation has registered a growth of 5.44% in April 2023 as compared to April 2022 and overall power generation in April 2023 has been 3.98% higher than the power generated in April 2022.
The total power generation from all sources in the country in April 2023 was 1,41,898 million unit (MU) as compared to 1,36,465 MU in April 2022. Coal based power generation was 1,08,106 MU in April 2023, reflecting 76.19% share in total power generation for the month.
India is the fifth largest coal producing country in the world and as it is a major coal consuming country it imports part of its coal requirement, particularly the coking coal which is less available in India and is used in the steel industry.
The coking coal production stood at 4.89 MT in April 2023, 18.07% higher than 4.14 MT in April 2022.