'Twenty coal mines likely to become operational by end of this year'

Twenty coal mines are likely to become operational by the end of this year, an official source said.

This assumes significance with peak power demand in the country likely to cross 400 GW by 2030.

These 20 coal blocks which include seven blocks of state-owned Coal India and three blocks of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) will contribute another 100 million tonnes (MT) in three to four years, the source said.

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

SCCL is a government coal mining company jointly owned by the Telangana government and the Centre on a 51:49 equity basis.

The country has for the first time crossed the milestone of 1 billion tonnes of coal and lignite production in 2023-24, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi had said.

The country is not very far from its next target to eliminate coal imports by 2025-26, he had said.

The country's total coal and lignite output was 937 MT in the 2022-23 fiscal year, as per official figures.

In FY24, about 22.20 MT coal was imported for blending, as compared to 30.80 MT in 2022-23.