Coal Industry

Hindalco expects aluminium production costs to rise another 5% in Q3FY27 as coal inventories at its Mahan and Renukoot smelters fall to nearly half their normal levels

Coal gasification projects have the potential to save India around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in foreign exchange over the next five to seven years through import substitution, Coal Ministry Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said on Thursday. The Centre has committed financial incentives of Rs 46,000 crore under two schemes to encourage coal gasification projects, Dutt said, addressing the 4th Conference of Mining Ministers on Reforms in the Mines and Coal Sector in South Goa. "Mining with a conscience" should be the guiding principle for responsible miners, the official added. He said coal gasification, which converts coal into synthetic gas (syngas), can help manufacture several products that India currently imports in substantial quantities. "If the coal gasification projects get underway and gain scale, we would be succeeding in about five to seven years in saving about Rs one and a half lakh crore potentially of foreign exchange through this import substitution," Dutt said. "Coal gasification

The coal, power and railways ministries jointly set a goal to boost inventories at the plants from current levels near 18 million tons to at least 55 million by the end of the fiscal year in March

Coal India plans to sell 66.81 crore shares in subsidiary SECL through an IPO, reducing its holding to 90 per cent. The coal producer reported ₹4,754.59 crore profit in FY26.

Coal dispatches from captive and commercial mines increased 36% year-on-year to 21.11 million tonnes in October, while production during April-October rose 11.3% to 117.23 million tonnes

Coal imports by thermal power plants that depend on imported fuel rose marginally to 18.31 MT in August 2026 from 18.13 MT in the same month last year, even as the government continues to push for lower import dependence in the power sector. These plants are designed to operate primarily on imported coal. However, the country's total coal import dropped by 5.83 per cent in August to 104.57 million tonnes (MT) from 111.05 MT in August last fiscal. The decline reflects the continued efforts of the coal ministry to enhance domestic coal production, improve availability and strengthen the supply chain, with a view to reducing the country's dependence on imported coal. Coal imports by power plants dropped by 6.39 per cent to 21.32 MT in August from 22.77 MT in August 2025, the coal ministry said in a statement. The decline is consistent with efforts to improve domestic coal availability and reduce dependence on imported coal for blending at domestic coal-based power plants. The share

Indian Railways reported a rise of 87 coal rakes per day in October compared with a year earlier, as higher power demand and industrial activity drove increased coal transportation

Domestic production of gasification-linked products could reduce imports of natural gas, urea, ammonia and methanol while supporting new industrial clusters and jobs

The number of power plants with critically low coal stocks - which only have enough fuel supply to generate power for less than three days - rose to 96 as of October 19 from 60 plants in mid-September

Coal Ministry on Friday said the daily supplies of coal to the power sector have increased by around 36 per cent from the September low. The rate of stock depletion has also moderated significantly, while rake position has strengthened, the ministry said. "Stock depletion has slowed sharply, with the daily drawdown falling by more than half from 0.243 MT per day in September to 0.116 MT per day in October. The position is therefore stabilising, although stock rebuilding is yet to commence," the ministry said in a statement. Rail loading has strengthened correspondingly, averaging over 465 rakes per day in October, with the 470-rake target achieved on three consecutive days, the Ministry said in a statement. Supplies through other modes, including road, have also improved. The ministry further said that "some recent media reports flag growing risk of Power shortages in India as coal inventories at power plants fall to low levels" and, in this context, it clarifies that the "critica

NTPC expects around ₹2,000 crore in government support for its proposed Talaipalli plant, which will produce synthetic natural gas and take four to five years to build.

Supplies to the power sector rose 10.63 per cent to 48.9 million tonnes in September, while coal production increased 9.18 per cent to 53.5 million tonnes, CIL said

Audit finds ₹983.32 crore spent in villages not affected by mining and ₹679.14 crore sanctioned for projects outside the permissible PMKKKY framework

Indian Coal Exchange will operate as a physical delivery-based coal trading exchange, providing a technology-enabled marketplace that brings buyers and sellers together on a single platform

Power producers imported 5.52 million tonnes of coal during the month, up 85.6 per cent year-on-year, as heat-wave conditions and lower hydropower output lifted electricity demand

Rake loading to the power sector increased from 370 on September 3 to 444 on September 6, while corrective supply measures were put in place for plants with critical stocks

State-owned NMDC will start the commercial production of thermal coal by October-December period and looks to sell around 1 MT of the dry fuel within FY27, said Amitava Mukherjee, Chairman of India's largest iron ore mining player. Under the Ministry of Steel, Hyderabad-based NMDC alone caters to the country's 20 per cent need of iron ore -- a key raw material needed to produce steel. In an interview to PTI, Mukherjee said the company has drawn a road map up to 2030 to diversify its mining operations to support the government's vision of Viksit Bharat. "Right now, we are 99.9 per cent an iron ore company. We aim to help the growing industries in the country with maximum of their mineral needs," the chairman said, adding that this year the company will begin the commercial mining of thermal coal and targets to sell a maximum of 1 MT of the commodity to potential buyers. "We have reached the coal seam (of Tokisud North coal mine), and the production will start by next quarter," the .

The coal ministry said Talcher Fertilisers and NTPC have already submitted applications, while the first application window remains open until September 7

The recent policy reforms in India's coal sector have streamlined captive and commercial operations by reducing the operationalisation timelines for fully and partially explored blocks, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt has said. Aided by the government's policy reforms, the operationalisation timelines for fully explored coal blocks have been reduced by 11 months and partially explored blocks by 14 months, Dutt said. Cutting operationalisation timelines drastically reduces regulatory and administrative gestation periods, enabling faster mine development and quicker commercial production. Speaking during a meeting of Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Coal on Wednesday, Dutt said that continuous reforms introduced in the coal sector have reduced the operationalisation timeline for fully explored blocks from 51 months to 40 months and partially explored blocks from 66 months to 52 months. Captive and commercial mines have played an important role in achieving 1 billion

India's coal production grew to 69.75 MT in July 2026 from 64.88 MT a year earlier, while coal dispatch rose to 86.33 MT during the month