State-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) might be planning to increase its full-year production target after it managed to achieve first-quarter production target of 102.46 million tonnes (mt).

The company had earlier targeted an output of 464 mt, which was described as ambitious by the management give its inability to expand mines. The company had produced only 436 mt of the black fuel in the previous year compared to a target of 452 mt.

The production during the first quarter rose 6.4 per cent from the same period in the previous year. CIL had earlier reduced its target for this fiscal a notch from the 470 million tonne (mt) set in April to 468.74 mt. Coal India chairman Narsing Rao has said that the targets are linked to production and off-take and any revision would be upwards.

Coal India chairman S. Narsing Rao said, "Country is facing a shortage of coal today. There is a shortage of about 80-90 million tonne in the power sector. Coal India can import, but if we have to import and supply to the consumers at the same price, then they might not see any big value addition in us doing the job of import."

CIL has said that it is planning to increase production to 615 million tones during the 12th Five Year Plan that started from 1 April, 2012. CIL has a total of 56 spillover projects of 11th Five Year Plan and has identified 69 new projects aiming to increase production. CIL accounts for about 80 per cent of the country's coal production and thus power producers heavily depend on the company for sullies.