The Coal Ministry is bullish on the rising coal production in the country. Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Coal & Power, says that there is no question of returning back to the era of coal shortages, given the higher production in the country.
However, the prevailing demand is sluggish, primarily due to the lower off-take from the power sector. Coal stocks have risen to around 50 MnT, which is equivalent to nearly 45-days of power production.
In the context of the mismatch between demand and production in the country, the minister said that coal production could not be lowered as power demand as well as capacity is gradually increasing.
Coal India Limited (CIL) produced 377.7 MnT during the Apr-Dec’16 period against the target of 417.5 MnT. At the same time frame, the off-take was at 391.7 MnT against the target of 433.9 MnT.
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