The Ministry of Coal has clarified that the supply of coal to the Power Sector is regularly being supervised by the Ministry in close coordination with the Ministries of Power and Railways. As a result of these coordinated efforts the closing stock of coal at the domestic coal-based power plants, as on October 31, this year was 25.6 Million Tons (MT).

This is the highest ever in October except for the COVID-19 year of 2020-21. The domestic coal supply to the power sector is 12 per cent more than in the same period of last year which is the highest-ever supply to the power sector in the first seven months of any financial year.

The total domestic coal production is 18 per cent higher than in the same period of the previous year with Coal India Limited (CIL), achieving a growth of 17.5 per cent.

The captive coal blocks produced 58.6 MT in the first seven months registering a growth of 37.5 per cent over the same period of the previous year.

The domestic coal rake loading from all sources of CIL to the power sector has been at an all-time high of 296.5 rakes per day which is a 19 per cent increase over the same period of the previous year.

To enhance the coal production capacity, the Ministry of Coal has recently put 141 new coal blocks for commercial auction. The Ministry is closely coordinating with State Governments and central ministries concerned to operationalize mines auctioned earlier, on the fast track.

The Ministry is also taking steps to augment rail connectivity infrastructure for all major mines under PM-Gatishakti to ensure faster evacuation of coal and the Ministry of Coal is committed to ensuring adequate availability of coal to the power sector.

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