NTPC to import 22 MT coal in FY'16 to meet shortfall

State-owned power producer NTPC will import 22 million tonnes (MT) of coal in the current fiscal to meet the shortfall in domestic availability.
"... During 2015-16, NTPC Ltd has been assigned a programme of 22 MT import of coal to meet the shortfall in its domestic coal availability," Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
He further said that coal imports by power utilities stood at 91.2 MT during 2014-15 against 80 MT in 2013-14.
In order to minimise the import dependency, he said the focus of the government is to increase the domestic production of coal which includes efforts to expedite green clearances, and pursuing with state governments for assistance in land acquisition.

He further said that state-owned Coal India is also planning to increase its output from current level of 494 MT to 1,000 MT by 2019-20 for which a detailed action plan has been drawn.
"However, due to insufficient reserves of coking coal in the country, import dependency for coking coal is expected to continue," he said.