Parliament Question: Increase of coal production in the country

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3400 ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 INCREASE OF COAL PRODUCTION IN THE COUNTRY 3400 # SHRI SANJAY KUMAR JHA: Will the Minister of Coal be pleased to state: (a) whether coal production of the country has reached its highest level in 2024–25 due to the efforts of Government; (b) if so, the details of the efforts made and the achievement of coal production in the country during the last five years; and (c) whether this has led to a significant reduction in coal import, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY) (a) & (b): The country has witnessed highest ever coal production of 1047.52 Million Tonne (MT) in the FY 2024-25. The quantity of coal produced in the country during the last five years is given below: [Figures MT] Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Total 716.08 778.21 893.19 997.83 1047.52 The key initiatives taken by the Government to boost coal production in the country are as under: i. Regular reviews by Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks. ii. Enactment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 [MMDR Act] for enabling captive mine owners (other than atomic minerals) to sell up to 50% of their annual mineral (including coal) production in the open market after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine. iii. Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up operationalization of coal mines. iv. Project Management Unit (PMU) for handholding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals/ clearances for early operationalization of coal mines. 1v. Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing basis was launched in 2020. Under commercial mining scheme, rebate of 50% on final offer has been allowed for the quantity of coal that is produced earlier than scheduled date of production. Further, incentives on coal gasification or liquefaction (rebate of 50% on final offer) have been granted. vi. Terms and conditions of commercial coal mining are very liberal with no restriction on utilization of coal, allowing new companies to participate in the bidding process, reduced upfront amount, adjustment of upfront amount against monthly payment, liberal efficiency parameters to encourage flexibility to operationalize the coal mines, transparent bidding process, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route and revenue sharing model based on the National Coal Index. In addition to the above, coal companies have also taken the following steps to increase domestic coal production: i. Coal India Limited (CIL), in its Underground (UG) mines, is adopting new and modern technologies like Mass Production Technologies (MPT) with the deployment of Continuous Miners (CMs), Longwall (LW) and Highwall (HW), wherever feasible. In its Opencast (OC) mines, CIL already has State-of-the-Art technology in its high- capacity Excavators and Dumpers. Standardization of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) has been done in opencast mines. Surface Miners have also been deployed in opencast mines for efficient and eco-friendly mining. ii. Regular liaison is being undertaken by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for grounding of new projects and operation of existing projects. SCCL has initiated action for developing infrastructure for evacuation of coal like Coal Handling Plants (CHPs), Crushers, Mobile Crushers, Pre-weigh-bins etc. (c): The coal imports in the country have reduced from 264.53 MT during the FY 2023-24 to 243.62 MT in FY 2024-25, thereby registering a decline of 7.90 %. **** 2