Page 5 - Coal Industry

India's coal-power plant growth holds near five-year high at 4 GW in 2024

India's dependence on the dirtiest fossil fuel will likely continue for years, despite plans for the rapid deployment of clean power capacity

Coal-based power generation up 3.87% in Apr-Oct, coal imports drop 3%: Govt

The government on Thursday said coal-based power generation rose 3.87 per cent in the April-October period of the current fiscal year. "...there was a significant growth of 3.87 per cent in coal-based power generation from April 2024 to October 2024 compared to the same period last year," the coal ministry said in a statement. The ministry further said the imports for blending purposes by thermal power plants dropped 19.5 per cent during the same period. This decline emphasises the country's commitment to achieve self-sufficiency in coal production and reducing reliance on imports. "Increase in coal import for power sector is attributed to the import of coal by imported coal-based power plants (designed to utilise imported coal only) i.e. 30.04 MT during this period, up from 21.71 MT, reaching a growth of 38.4 per cent in the corresponding timeframe last year," it said. Coal imports during April-October period of the current fiscal year dropped 3.1 per cent to 149.39 million tonne

Coal imports rise 4% to 162 million tonnes in April-October period

The country's coal import rose by 4.2 per cent to 162.45 million tonnes (MT) in the April-October period of the current financial year compared to 155.87 MT in the year-ago period. Coal imports in October dropped by 14.4 per cent to 21.84 MT compared to 25.54 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, according to data compiled by mjunction services, a B2B e-commerce platform. Of the total imports in October, non-coking coal imports stood at 13.49 MT against 18.82 MT imported in October last fiscal. Coking coal imports stood at 4.45 MT, against 4.31 MT imported in October last financial year. In September, non-coking coal imports were 13.24 MT and coking coal at 3.39 MT. "There was a modest increase (month-on-month) in non-coking coal volumes in October as buyers took fresh positions during the festive month, and ahead of the winter season. Going forward, demand is likely to be moderate due to the anticipated growth in domestic supply during the fourth quarter (Q4)," ...

Coal gasification projects: Govt gives LoAs to 4 entities for incentives

The government on Thursday gave letters of award to four entities, including BCGCL- a joint venture of CIL-BHEL - for availing fiscal incentives totalling Rs 4,150 crore for setting up coal gasification projects. Letters of Award (LoAs) have been given to CIL-BHEL , a consortium of CIL-GAIL , Coal India Ltd and New Era Cleantech Solution Pvt Ltd. "Ministry of Coal has reached a significant milestone in India's Coal Gasification Initiative with the issuance of LoAs to the selected applicants under Categories I and III of the Rs 8,500 crore Coal Gasification Incentive Scheme," the coal ministry said in a statement. BCGCL has been awarded Rs 1,350 crore of financial incentive under the scheme for its coal gasification project in Lakhanpur, Odisha. With a total investment of Rs 11,768 crore, the project aims to produce 0.66 million tonne per annum of ammonium nitrate. The CIL-GAIL joint venture project in Sonepur Bazari, West Bengal, has been awarded Rs 1,350 crore. This project, costi

SECL registers negative growth in coal production for 4th successive month

The Chhattisgarh-based firm produced 13.3 million tonne (MT) coal in November, which is 9.9 per cent less than 14.8 MT produced during the corresponding period of last year

SC to review orders barring HCs from hearing coal block allocation cases

The Supreme Court Wednesday said it would consider pleas seeking modification of its earlier orders that barred high courts from hearing appeals against trial court orders passed in cases related to alleged illegal coal block allocations. The apex court passed two orders between 2014 and 2017 restricting the accused from approaching the high court and had directed that appeals against trial court proceedings in the coal scam cases could only be filed in the top court. The intent behind the orders was to expedite trial processes by preventing delays and to stall the proceedings by the accused seeking relief in high courts. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was considering pleas that urged it to modify the orders saying the Delhi High Court, being the appellate court, be allowed to deal with the pleas arising out of trial court orders related to coal scam cases. "Is this the stand of the CBI that everything should come to us?" the CJI asked senio

Coal India's total production up by 2% to 471 million tonnes in Apr-Nov

State-owned CIL's coal production rose by 2.4 per cent to 471 million tonnes (MT) in the April-November period of the current financial year. Coal India Ltd (CIL) produced 460 MT of coal in the year-ago period. CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production. The company's production also rose by 1.7 per cent to 67.2 MT in November against 66 MT in the corresponding month a year ago, CIL said in a regulatory filing to BSE. Coal offtake by CIL, which is the amount of dry fuel supplied from coal pitheads, rose by 1.5 per cent to 492.6 MT in the April-November period of the current fiscal, compared to 485.2 MT in the year-ago period. The company's coal offtake in November was almost flat at 63 MT, over 62.9 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, the filing said. Coal India Ltd said it produced 773.6 million tonnes of coal in 2023-24 but fell short of its production target of 780 MT for the fiscal. Its production was 703.2 MT in the preceding 2022-23

Jharkhand gov to take legal action for Rs 1.36 trillion coal dues: CM Soren

Soon after taking oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren announced that his government would take legal action to realise its Rs 1.36 lakh-crore coal dues from the Centre. Soren took oath as the chief minister on Thursday. "Legal action will be initiated to realise Rs 1.36 lakh crore of the state pending with the Centre," Soren told the media while briefing the decisions of the maiden cabinet meeting of his present government. The announcement came barely 25 days after he requested the Centre "with folded hands" to clear the coal dues to the state. Though the CM said the decision was taken at the 'Cabinet meeting', no minister took oath during the day. Soren's first official meeting after his re-election was with PM Modi in Delhi on Tuesday, where they discussed state matters and Soren invited PM to his swearing-in ceremony. On November 2, he had posted on X: "The PM and the home minister are coming to Jharkhand. I once again request them with folded hands to clear

Will take legal action to realise Rs 1.36 trn coal dues from Centre: Soren

Barely 25 days after requesting the Centre "with folded hands" to clear Rs 1.36 lakh-crore coal dues to the state, Hemant Soren who was sworn in as Jharkhand chief minister on Thursday announced that the state will take legal action to realise its dues. "Legal action will be initiated to realise Rs 1.36 lakh crore of the state pending with the Centre," Soren told the media while briefing the decisions of the maiden cabinet meeting of his present government. Though the CM said the decision was taken at the 'Cabinet meeting', no minister took oath during the day. Soren's first official meeting after his re-election was with PM Modi in Delhi on Tuesday, where they discussed state matters and Soren invited PM to his swearing-in ceremony. On November 2, he had posted on X: "The PM and the home minister are coming to Jharkhand. I once again request them with folded hands to clear the outstanding (coal dues) of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to Jharkhandis. This amount is crucial for Jharkhand." "I

Coal levy 'scam': SC extends interim bail of ex-Chhattisgarh CM's dy secy

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the interim bail of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia, an accused in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal-levy scam. The apex court had on September 25 granted her interim bail, noting that she had already undergone custody of more than one year and nine months and charges were yet to be framed. The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan. The bench sought to know about the current status of the case. Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Chaurasia, said the trial has not yet commenced. "Interim bail to continue," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing in the last week of January. The top court was hearing Chaurasia's plea challenging an August 28 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court which had denied her bail. In its September 25 order, the apex court had directed the state government not to reinstate her in service

Coal India floats tender seeking bids from private players for e-auction

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

India's thermal coal imports hit 15-month low amid lower power demand

Shipments into the world's second-largest coal importer plunged 31.8 per cent to 13.56 million metric tons

India's coal import rose 8% to 140.6 MT in H1, demand likely to stay modest

India's coal import rose by 7.8 per cent to 140.60 million tonne (MT) in the April-September period of the ongoing financial year. The country's coal import was 130.34 MT in the year-ago period, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce company mjunction services ltd. Overall, coal import demand is likely to remain modest due to the healthy stock position and high volumes being offered through spot e-auctions in the domestic market, mjunction MD and CEO Vinaya Varma said. Coal import in September dropped by 10.09 per cent to 19.42 MT from 21.60 MT in the corresponding month of previous fiscal. Of the total imports in September, non-coking coal volume was 13.24 MT, against 14.88 MT in the year-ago month. Coking coal import stood at 3.39 MT, against 4.59 MT a year ago. During the April-September period, non-coking coal import was at 91.92 MT, higher than 83.45 MT imported during the same period last year. Coking coal import was at 28.18 MT as against 29.44 MT. "There was a slig

Request PM, Shah to clear Jharkhand's Rs 1.36 trn coal dues: Hemant Soren

Ahead of the scheduled visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to poll-bound Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday requested the Centre with folded hands to clear Rs 1.36 lakh-crore coal dues to the state. Modi is scheduled to address two rallies in Jharkhand on November 4 while Shah will address three public meetings on November 3. "The PM and the home minister are coming to Jharkhand. I once again request them with folded hands to clear the outstanding (coal dues) of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to Jharkhandis. This amount is crucial for Jharkhand," Soren posted on X. He also appealed to BJP MPs to facilitate clearance of the amount. "I would also appeal to my BJP colleagues, especially the MPs, to help Jharkhandis in getting our dues," Soren posted on the microblogging site, sharing a copy of a letter to the prime minister. Soren emphasised that the dues with central PSUs, like Coal India, are "rightful" to the state and claimed that "non-clearanc

India to have a coal exchange soon, says Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy

Reddy also highlighted the need to decrease coal imports. "We are increasing coal production in view of the rise in imports over the past two months," he said

Coking coal import cannot be substituted fully, says CIL MD Prasad

CIL Chairman and Managing Director P M Prasad on Monday said coking coal import cannot be substituted fully, but some part of it can be reduced. Coking coal, also known as metallurgical coal, is used to produce coke, a key component in steel-making process. As per the data compiled by mjunction services ltd, India's coal import in 2023-24 was 268.24 MT, which includes 57.22 MT coking coal and 175.96 MT non-coking coal. Speaking during stakeholders' consultation on mining operators-cum-developers (MDO) and Star Rating of Coal Mines Award Ceremony, the CMD said coking coal import cannot be substituted fully, but some part of it can be reduced. The coking coal import can be brought down if its production through domestic sources is increased, he noted. He further said achieving coal production of 1.5 billion tonne in the next four to five years is not a small thing and in order to achieve this output, mining projects have to be awarded to MDOs. Import of thermal coal can be reduced

India exploring ways to import Mongolian coking coal via Russia: Report

Mills in India, the world's second-biggest producer of crude steel, grappled with volatile Australian supplies of coking coal last year, and the government sent delegations to Mongolia

Senior IAS officer Vikram Dev Dutt assumes charge as new coal secretary

Vikram Dev Dutt on Monday assumed the charge as the coal secretary. Dutt succeeds V L Kantha Rao who currently serves as the mines secretary. Dutt, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, earlier served as the Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the coal ministry said in a statement. Prior to Rao, Amrit Lal Meena served as the coal secretary. Meena was repatriated to his home cadre Bihar, where he was appointed as the chief secretary. Meena is a 1989-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had approved Meena's repatriation to his parent cadre on the request of the Bihar government, said a personnel ministry order dated August 30.

Road side dust, vehicular pollution reasons for pollution: Environmentalist

The issue has now become a political controversy with BJP and Congress attacking AAP over their irresponsibility over the issue

India extends operation of imported coal-based power plants: Circular

Mandate comes despite the country's coal fired power output falling for a second straight month in September on an annual basis due to slower growth in electricity usage and surge in solar generation