Despite the Coal Ministry's assertion that the pricing of
coal on GCV (Gross Calorific Value) based grading system would have no
significant change (in pricing), industry stakeholders perceive that the new
pricing regime could have significant impact on the economy.
“We do not want the coal sector to be sick, but the MSME
sector also needs protection,” Mr R K Mathur, Secretary, MSME (Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises) said.
Responding to a query on the new coal pricing policy, Dr H.
P. Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of NSIC (National Small Industries
Corporation), said: “since coal is a key input for the small and medium
enterprises, there should be no tinkering in the price of coal. The SMEs should
not be allowed to be impacted by the pricing”.
CIL has priced the GCV 5,200-5,500 kcal coal at Rs 2750, or
$52 a tonne at the current exchange, for the non regulated sector and Rs 2,520
or $ 39 a tonne for power, fertilizer and defence.
A like-to-like comparison (with GCV 5300 k cal coal)
indicate that apart from power and fertilizer the rest of Indian industry is
paying 15 per cent higher price for CIL coal than its competitors in Indonesia
running on indigenous coal.
Source: The Business Line
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