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Coal India arm SECL's 12 coal mining projects are running behind schedule due to reasons like delays in green clearances and possession of land. These projects have been facing delays even as the government is focussing on boosting domestic coal production to reduce imports. South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) is a Mini Ratna public sector enterprise. Of the said projects, three mines cost Rs 500 crore and above, five Rs 150 crore and above but less than Rs 500 crore, two Rs 100 crore and above but less than Rs 150 crore, one Rs 50 crore and above but less than Rs 100 crore and one Rs 20 crore and above but less than Rs 50 crore, according to the company's report. Some of these projects are Amadand open cast mine, Amgaon open cast project, and Vijay West underground mine, it said. However, 18 projects are on schedule. "A total of 30 ongoing projects (18 projects on schedule and 12 projects facing delays) in SECL are under different stages of implementation," it said. Projects co
Despite having switched to its internal e-auction platform in January this year, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has floated a tender seeking bids from private service providers to conduct e-auctions of the dry fuel for its subsidiaries over the next two years, officials said on Monday. This move has left external e-auction service providers, such as MSTC and mjunction, who have managed CIL's auctions through electronic platforms for nearly two decades, confused and they were seeking more clarity before deciding whether to participate in the tender, stakeholders said. The deadline for submission of bids is November 27. CIL had engaged its subsidiary CMPDI to develop an internal coal e-auction system in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the officials said. The internal platform was successfully transitioned in January 2024 after conducting successful trials in 2023. "However, there have been complaints about the system's performance, prompting Coal India to seek extern
The coal production from both captive and commercial coal blocks rose by 32 per cent to 79.72 Million Tonne (MT) in the April-September period of the ongoing fiscal. The coal output from both captive and commercial coal blocks was 60.52 MT in the first half of the previous fiscal. The coal dispatch rose by 34 per cent year-over-year, from 65.37 MT in H1 of FY'24 to 87.86 MT in H1 of FY'25. There has been "a significant rise in coal production and dispatch from both captive and commercial coal blocks during the first half of FY 2024-25, from April 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, compared to the same period last year," the coal ministry said in a statement. The coal production in September rose by 32 per cent to 13.74 MT from 10.40 MT. Likewise, dispatch in the month of September has grown by 47 per cent year-over-year, from 9.68 MT in FY'24 to 14.27 MT in FY'25. The coal ministry said that it applauds the efforts of all stakeholders, including coal companies and industry partners,
Coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said that critical minerals have emerged as drivers of the modern economy and the Centre has ensured the country taps into this global opportunity through the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission. Union Budget 2024-25 has proposed launching Critical Mineral Mission for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals, and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets. Its mandate will include technology development, skilled workforce, extended producer responsibility framework, and a suitable financing mechanism. Addressing the national seminar on challenges and opportunities in the mines and minerals sector organised by the Mining, Geological, Metallurgical Institute of India, Reddy said that the government has brought about a paradigm change in the coal and minerals sector, making it transparent and competitive. He elaborated on the government's extensive efforts over the past decade to harness this potential throu
India's coal import rose by 7.7 per cent to 268.24 million tonne (MT) in FY24 driven by softness in seaborne prices and likelihood of increase in power demand during summer. The country's coal import was 249.06 MT in FY23, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce company mjunction services. Coal import in March FY24 also rose to 23.96 MT, over 21.12 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. Of the total volume recorded in March 2024, non-coking coal import stood at 15.33 MT, against 13.88 MT in March FY23. Coking coal import in March 2024 was 5.34 MT against 3.96 MT a year ago. During FY24, non-coking coal import was at 175.96 MT, higher than 162.46 MT imported during FY23. Coking coal import was at 57.22 MT in 2023-24, against 54.46 MT in 2022-23. "There was an increase in coal import volumes due to the continued softness in seaborne prices and expectation of a demand uptick during the summer season. However, as there is ample availability of domestic coal in the
India produced 880.72 million tonne (MT) of coal in April-February this fiscal and is now just 119.28 MT away from its 1 billion tonne coal production target for FY24. In 2022-23, India's total coal output was 893 million tonnes (MT). For the ongoing 2023-24 fiscal, the government has a target to produce 1 billion tonne (BT) of coal. The cumulative coal production in April-February 2024 grew over 12 per cent to 880.72 MT (provisional) compared to 785.39 MT during the same period of FY23, the Ministry of Coal said in a statement on Tuesday. The country's coal produced rose 12 per cent to 96.60 million tonne (MT) in February against 86.38 MT a year ago. In February, the production of state-owned giant Coal India Ltd (CIL) rose 8 per cent to 74.76 MT (provisional) from 68.78 MT in February 2023, the ministry said. The cumulative coal dispatch up to February 2024 increased over 11 per cent to 882.44 MT compared to 794.41 MT in the year-ago period. The coal dispatch grew 13.63 per cen
State-owned Coal India Ltd on Friday reported a 10.5 per cent rise in production at 685.1 million tonnes (MT) during the April-February period of the ongoing fiscal. The public sector coal producer had registered an output of 619.7 MT in the year-ago period, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a filing to BSE. In February, the production increased to 74.8 MT from 68.8 MT recorded in the year-ago month, the filing said. According to the company, the figures are provisional. The tota offtake of coal during the April-February period went up to 684.7 MT from 630.5 MT witnessed in the year-ago period. Coal offtake is the amount of fossil fuel supplied from the pitheads. CIL's offtake in February also increased to 65.3 MT from 58.3 MT in the corresponding month of previous fiscal. Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output in the country.
India will focus on setting up more coal-fired power projects as well as keep adding renewable generation capacity to achieve 24x7 electricity supply for all in 2024 amid economic expansion and the need to ensure energy security in these times of rising geopolitical uncertainties. In a reflection of ambitious plans, the Union power ministry has planned a whooping 91 GW of coal-based thermal power generation capacity entailing an investment of Rs 7.28 lakh crore over the next few years. Talking to PTI, Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said, "24X7 supply of power is right of the consumer. Similarly, energy security is of paramount importance for us. You have seen what happened in Europe due to the Russia-Ukraine war." At present, average power supply across India is 23.50 hours in urban areas and 22 hours in rural areas, he said. Singh also said that the coal-based thermal power capacity will insulate the country from any geopolitical disruption and ensure ..
Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday expressed confidence that the country's coal production will cross one billion tonnes in the ongoing financial year. The country's production target of the fossil fuel for 2023-24 is 1,012.14 MT. Speaking during the launch of the ninth round of commercial coal mine auction, the minister said, "This year we are going to cross one billion tonnes production." The estimated demand of coal in the current fiscal is 1,196.60 million tonne (MT). The demand of electricity by 2030 is going to double and to cater to the need the country needs coal, the minister said. With the completion of the ninth round of auction, the sale of 100 coal blocks would be completed. A total of 31 coal mines are being offered in the ninth round of commercial coal mine auctions. The mines being auctioned are spread across coal, lignite-bearing states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.