Lok Sabha Question No. 437 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-17
Subject: Availability of Surplus Coal
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN, VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL, GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, VIJAY KUMAR S.R., SUDHEER GUPTA, DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, RAJEEV SHANKARRAO SATAV, SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD, T. RADHAKRISHNAN, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.437

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.11.2016

## 'Availability of Surplus Coal'

## 437. SHRI ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL VIJAYSINH SHANKARRAO:

SHRIGAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:

SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK :

SHRI SATAV RAJEEV:

DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD:

SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO :

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government is facing the problem of availability of surplus coal and its sale in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the coal companies are still importing the coal even after its availability in the country and if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for the same;
- (c) the total  quantum of coal imported along with the total foreign exchange outgo from the country during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (d) whether the Government is now working on a plan to end dependency on coal imports in the country and if so, the details thereof and the estimated quantum of foreign exchange likely to be saved; and
- (e) the  steps taken/being taken by the Government to make India self-sufficient in coal production and to ensure supply of good quality of coal to the consumers?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) FOR COAL, POWER, NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES

## ( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a): As per the initial estimate, the demand for coal in 2016-17 is estimated to be 884.87 MT against which supply plan from indigenous sources has been planned to be 724.71 MT (CIL : 598.61 MT; SCCL : 58 MT & Other sources including captive blocks : 68.10 MT)  leaving  a  demand  supply  gap  of  160.16  MT  to  be  met  through  imports  by consuming sectors.

(b): In  accordance to the Presidential Directive issued to Coal India Limited (CIL) and under  the  provision  of  new  Fuel  Supply  Agreement  (FSA),  option  is  given  to  Power utility sector consumers to opt for supply of a part of Annual Contracted Quantity (ACQ) from imported coal through CIL. No  Thermal Power Plant/Coal company  has approached CIL for supply of imported coal for 2016-17.  As coal is an item under Open General License (OGL), it can also be imported directly by the consumers.

(c): The details of import of coal and value during the last three years and current year are given below.

| Year                  | Import (Mte.)         | Value (Million Rupees)   |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------|
| 2013-14               | 166.86                | 923292                   |
| 2014-15               | 217.78                | 1045066                  |
| 2015-16               | 199.88                | 845035                   |
| 2016-17               | 86.59@                | 334893                   |
| @(Upto, August, 2016) | @(Upto, August, 2016) | @(Upto, August, 2016)    |

(d) & (e): On account of increased production by Coal India Ltd. (CIL) in 2015-16, coal imports have fallen from 217.78 Mte. in 2014-15 to 199.88 Mte. in 2015-16.   In order to meet coal demand internally and make India self-sufficient in coal production, the focus of  the  Government is on increasing the domestic production from indigenous sources which  includes  efforts  to  expedite  Environment  &  Forest  clearances,  land  acquisition and  coordinated  efforts  with  Railways  for  movement  of  Coal.  A  roadmap  has  been prepared  by  CIL  to  enhance  production  of  coal  to  1  billion  tonnes  by  2019-20.  This includes capacity addition from new projects, use of mass production technologies and identification of existing on-going projects with growth potential.