Decline in coal production in the country: Production of lignite at a ten year low

- Ubhi Bazar ઃ Dilip Shah

- However, domestic overseas coal imports also declined: Exports to Bangladesh started!

Prices in the energy sector have recently seen a surge in prices. Crude oil is considered to be the global market leader in the energy sector markets and its moves are seen following the markets of various energy sectors including gas and coal. Crude oil prices in the world market have recently jumped to a two-and-a-half to three-year high and have also spilled over into the bullish sphere and energy markets. In India, meanwhile, the equations in the coal market and industry have been changing rapidly recently. Coal production figures in the country have come out recently. According to these figures, the country's coal production in the financial year 2020-21 has seen a decline of about 3 to 4 per cent. According to market analysts, the production has come down to about 2.120 lakh tonnes as against 303 to 404 lakh tonnes in the previous year, 2012-13. Prior to this, in the year 2016-7, the country's coal production was around 3 million tonnes. Thus, compared to the production in the last two years, the country has seen a significant decline in coal production in the year 2020-21. Meanwhile, a special feature has been seen in the coal production figures for 2020-21. In the first six months of this year, 2020-21, coal production has been recorded at less than 200 lakh tonnes per month and in the second six months thereafter, especially during the period starting from October, it has seen an increase in production every month in the latter six months. Monthly is above 200 lakh tonnes and such production has increased significantly to 4 million tonnes in March 2021, experts in the field said, citing figures from the Coal Ministry.

Meanwhile, the production of coal by the state-owned Coal India in this production has declined slightly to around 3 million tonnes in 2020-21. Out of the total coal production in the country, about 3 to 4 per cent is produced by the government-owned Coal India. Coal production in Coal India has declined by about one per cent in 2020-21. However, the country's coal production through captive coal blocks has increased by about eight per cent to 4 million tonnes during the period. During this period, the country has produced 210 million tonnes of thermal coal. The production of coking coal is around 3 million tonnes in the year 2030-21. Meanwhile, the production of lignite has declined significantly during this period and such production has seen a new low of the last ten years. The highest production of thermal coal in the country is in the state of Chhattisgarh. In Chhattisgarh, such production is around 1.4 million tonnes. Out of the total thermal coal production in the country, about 3 to 4 per cent is produced in Chhattisgarh alone, according to coal industry experts. According to the experts, Orissa is the second largest producer of such coal in the country after Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh is the third largest. The country produces coking coal, especially in the state of Jharkhand. The production of such coal in Jharkhand has been recorded at around 3 million tonnes during this period.

Domestic coal imports have also been seen in an environment where the overall production of coal in the country is widespread. According to import data, the country's coal imports have declined by about 15 to 18 per cent to around 2.120 million tonnes during the period. Out of this, the import of thermal coal in the country has declined by about 15 per cent to 120 lakh tonnes during the period, valued at about Rs 30,606 crore, while the import of coking coal in the country has declined marginally by about one per cent to around 210 lakh tonnes during the period. . The value of such imports is estimated at around Rs 4,006 crore. Meanwhile, the country has seen imports mainly from Indonesia during this period. India imported about 3 million tonnes of coal from Indonesia during the period. About 7 million tonnes of such imports from Australia have been recorded in the country during this period. Meanwhile, a new piece of news has also come out recently in the coal export sector as the country is importing coal. Such exports from India to Bangladesh have recently been seen. Such coal exports from the port of Calcutta were recently shipped to Bangladesh in early July. Such exported call was received from Dhanbad.