Coal India Limited’s coal import into the country could be in the range
of 6-10 million tones in the next financial year against an estimated
1.5-1.7 million tonnes in the current fiscal year.

The rise in import is mainly due to higher demands in the country from
sectors like steel and the power which are expanding capacity. On the
other hand, the targets for domestic output of the burning fuel have
been bought down because of delays in various projects.

According to D.C. Garg, Chairman of the Western Coalfields Ltd which is
one of the subsidiaries of the Coal India, the demand for coal in the
country will rise strongly.

Coal India has said that it will not be able to reach its output target
for the financial year and the company also indicated that it will bring
down its targets for the next financial year due to delays in its
projects.

The shortage of coal has already affected the output of the power
sector. India’s leading power producer NTPC Ltd’s plants faced shortages
of supply due to which the power generated in the country during the
month of December grew 5.45 percent which otherwise would have grown 6.5
percent if adequate supply of coal was available.