Page 6 - Coal Industry

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

CIL's H1 FY25 contribution to govt exchequer falls slightly to Rs 28,930 cr

State-owned Coal India Ltd's contribution to the government exchequer dropped marginally by 0.6 per cent to Rs 28,930.27 crore in the first half of the ongoing fiscal over the year-ago period. Coal India Ltd (CIL), which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal output, paid Rs 29,122.13 crore to the government exchequer in April-September period of FY24, according to provisional figures of the coal ministry. Total levies paid to the government in September also dropped by 11.1 per cent to Rs 4,335.24 crore from Rs 4,878.84 crore paid in the corresponding month of FY24. Of the total Rs 28,930.27 crore paid to the government exchequer in April-September FY25, maximum amount of Rs 6,452.30 crore went to the Jharkhand government, followed by Rs 6,383.14 crore to the Odisha government, Rs 5,432.02 crore to Chhattisgarh, Rs 5,177.41 crore to Madhya Pradesh, and Rs 2,782.25 crore to Maharashtra, among others. The coal-producing states earned the revenue from royalty, District ..

India coal-fired power output falls consecutively for 1st time since Covid

Heavy September rainfall in the west and north resulted in lower power demand, CRISIL, a unit of ratings agency S&P, said in a recent note

Foundation stone laid of Rs 732 cr coal handling projects in Jharkhand

The two plants will be an important step towards first-mile rail connectivity under which arrangements will be made to take the coal produced from the mines to the nearest railway circuit

Why India is still dependent on coal as UK shovels fossil fuel out

South Asian nation is shifting to clean energy but it is not phasing out the fossil fuel yet

Can protect Hasdeo while still meeting coal demands: Forest rights activist

The biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Aranya forests in Chhattisgarh -- where hundreds of tribals are protesting against tree felling for coal mining -- can be protected while still meeting India's coal demands, forest rights activist Alok Shukla has asserted. In an interview with PTI, Shukla, who received the Goldman Environmental Prize, also known as the 'Green Nobel', this year, said claims that coal mining brings development, and rehabilitation improves people's lives are "misleading". He said when communities protest, it's often because corporations have broken their promises and taken away indigenous people's rights and livelihoods. "This has created massive distrust. No community wants to give up its land to greedy corporations, and the government must understand this," Shukla, who has been leading the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, a community campaign to save the pristine Hasdeo forests since 2012, said. According to central government data, India's coal demand is expected to reach .

Coal production from captive, blocks rises 32% to 79.72 mn MT in H1

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,

CIL plans to monetise 4 old washeries, aimed at long term supply contract

State-owned Coa India Ltd is exploring options to monetise its four old washeries by leasing out those assets and plans to bundle lease contracts with long-term coal supply agreements. The move aims at optimising asset utilisation. "We are exploring the monetisation of four old washeries," Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a report. The company which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output is diversifying its portfolio by setting up a non-coking coal washery at Ib Valley, Lakhanpur in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) -- one of the subsidiaries of CIL. The public sector enterprise commissioned the operation of Madhuband Washery having 5 million tonnes of annual capacity during 2023-24 to further enhance coking coal beneficiation capacity. The company is also setting up three new washeries in Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) -- another arm of CIL -- with a total throughput capacity of seven million tonnes per annum. Besides, five coking coal washeries with a total capacity of 14

Coal India production drops marginally by 1% in Sep to 50.9 mn tonne

State-owned CIL's coal production dropped marginally by 1 per cent to 50.9 million tonnes (MT) in September. The coal behemoth, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal output, produced 51.4 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a filing to the BSE. However, the PSU's coal output in the April-September period of the current fiscal year increased 2.5 per cent to 341.5 MT, over 332.9 MT in the year-ago period. The amount of coal supplied from the pitheads of Coal India dropped to 54.4 MT last month, over 55.2 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year. However, the coal offtake in the April-September period increased to 366.6 MT, over 360.6 MT in the corresponding period of previous fiscal year. Coal India's production rose 10 per cent to 773.6 million tonnes in 2023-24 but fell short of its production target of 780 MT for the fiscal year. CIL's production was 703.2 MT in the preceding 2022-23 fiscal .

UK, home to world's first coal power plant, to close its last unit today

The UK will close its last coal power plant on Monday, marking a significant milestone in energy use amid global calls for adopting green energy to thwart the irreversible threat of climate change