Lok Sabha Question No. 679 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Coking Coal
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Rebati Tripura, Gautham Sigamani Pon, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 679 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## Coking Coal

## 679. SHRI REBATI TRIPURA: SHRI GAUTHAM SIGAMANI PON: SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  coking  coal  produced  in  the  country  during  the  last  three years and the current year;
- (b) whether there is any sharp any decline in the coking coal reserves in the country and if so the details thereof and reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  recently  signed  MoU  to  import  coking  coal and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the target set for production of coking coal during the last three years;
- (e) whether there is a huge difference in the demand and production of coking coal; and
- (f) if  so,  the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to fill this gap?

## Answer

## MINISTER OF  PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

(a): The details of coking coal production during last three years are given below:-

| Year                           | 2017-18           | 2018-19           | 2019-20           | 2020-20 #         |
|--------------------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| Production of Coking Coal (MT) | 40.15             | 42.72             | 52.84             | 11.77             |
| # upto July, 2020              | # upto July, 2020 | # upto July, 2020 | # upto July, 2020 | # upto July, 2020 |

(b): No. Sir, There is no decline in coking coal resource in the country. As per GSI Coal  Inventory  of  Coking-Coal  resources  in  India  as  on  01.04.2019  is  about 35.004 billion tonnes as compared to 29.35 billion tonnes as on 01.04.2012

(c): In the presence of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India and Hon'ble President of the Russian Federation, a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was executed on 4-Sep-2019 between Coal India Limited and Far East Investment & Export Agency (FEIEA - a Russian Govt. agency). This relationship is aimed to leverage  the  bilateral  relations  to  venture  into  the  business  of  acquisition, development  and  operation  of  coking  coal  assets  in  the  Far  East  Region  of Russia.

(d): the  target set for production of coal in Coal India Limited (CIL) during the last three years is given below:-

| (in MT)   | (in MT)   | (in MT)   | (in MT)   |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Year      | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   |
| CIL       | 38.74     | 32.96     | 56.62     |

(e): Though  total  coking  coal  demand  was  62.54  MT  and  domestic  production 52.84  MT  in  2019-20,  most  of  it  had  a  very  high  ash  content  making  it redundant in the manufacture of steel which resulted in import of 51.83 MT of coking coal during the year.

(f): Following steps are being taken by CIL for augmenting coking coal production:

- i)  Implementation  of  Jharia  Master  Action  Plan  by  Jharia  Rehabilitation  & Development Authority (JRDA).
2. ii)  Sifting  of  encroachers  under  the  Bharat  Coking  Coal  Limited  (BCCL) command area
3. iii)  Capacity  expansion/modernization  of  mines  of  Central  Coalfields  Limited (CCL) like Karo OC
4. iv)  Opening of 4 Coking /Washery grade coal producing mines of CCL in near future as given below:
- v) Further, in an effort to bring more coal under the coking coal category, coal beyond 35% ash content which had some coking properties were brought into the coking fold by a Government of India notification wherein 2 new grades were added, namely Washery V (ash content 35-42%) and Washery VI (ash content 42 - 49%).

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