No coal shortage in country, says Centre

There is no shortage of coal in the country, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

In the current financial year up to January 2023, the country has produced about 698.24 million tonnes of coal as against 602.49 million tonnes produced during the same period of last year, with a growth of about 16 per cent, Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question on coal supplies.

Joshi also said that Coal India Ltd, the largest supplier in the country, has dispatched 572.25 million tonnes of dry fuel in the current fiscal (April-January, 2023), achieving a growth of 5.5 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.

The all India coal production in 2021-2022 was 778.19 million tonnes in comparison to 716.08 million tonnes in 2020-2021, he added.