Coal imports down 5% in April-May

The Dollar Business Bureau

India’s coal imports fell by 4.9% to 35.85 million tonnes (MT) during April-May this year due to increased production by Coal India Ltd.

The imports during April-May of the last financial year were 37.72 MT.

"Coal India's increased production leads to reduction in coal import. Down from 37.72 MT during Apr-May '15 to 35.85 MT during Apr-May '16," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said in a tweet. 

In another tweet, Swarup said the reduction in coal imports has resulted in the saving of Rs.4,285 crore in April-May this year by way of foreign exchange. 

"A new chapter in addressing issues relating to quality of coal supplied by CIL. Third Party sampling and testing to be done by CSIR Labs," Swarup tweeted further. 

Swarup had earlier said that coal shipments will come down further during the ongoing fiscal due to increased domestic production.

The domestic demand of coal in the country has not been growing at a considerable pace. The Secretary hoped that the Uday Scheme will give an impetus to the domestic demand in the days to come. 

The state-run coal producing company achieved a record production of 536 MT in 2015-16. The total output was 42 MT more than the previous fiscal. 

On year-on-year basis, CIL’s overall production increased by 8.5%. However, the company was eyeing 550 MT output. CIL has fixed its output target at 598 MT for this fiscal.