Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday claimed that India has sufficient coal reserves, and said that the country will start exporting dry fuel by 2025-26.
The Coal Ministry will take all steps to ensure an uninterrupted supply of coal in the approaching summer season -- when the peak demand is expected to be 229 GW during April, the Minister said.
"Record coal production happened at nearly 900 MT in FY23, and we have a coal stock of 116-117 MT at present. I assure the country of uninterrupted coal supply in summers or in rainy seasons," he said on the sidelines of the seventh round of auctions for commercial mining of coal blocks in the national capital.
Domestic demand for coal is estimated to reach 1,087 million tonnes in the ongoing financial year. The industry meets some parts of its requirements through imports.
From a net importer of coal, India is moving towards becoming a net exporter of non-coking coal, Joshi said.
According to the Coal Ministry, India's cumulative total estimated coal reserve as of April 1, 2022, was 3.61 lakh million tonnes (MT).
India's imports of substitutable coal were 90 MT, which will be stopped by 2025-26 when the country will start exporting the dry fuel.
The plants, designed to run on imported coal, may continue to import, but if they change the technology domestic supply can be made to them as well, Joshi said.
On Wednesday, the ministry put on the block 106 coal mines, launching the seventh round of commercial auctions. It will also be signing the agreements for the 28 coal mines auctioned under the sixth round of auctions.
The government has auctioned 87 coal mines in three years which after becoming operational will generate an estimated revenue of Rs 33,200 crore and provide employment opportunities. With a vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the first-ever tranche of Commercial Coal Mine Auctions was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2020, the Coal Ministry said.