Lok Sabha Question No. 5056 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-24
Subject: Import of Coking Coal
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Poonam (Mahajan) Vajendla Rao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5056 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2019

Import of Coking Coal

## 5056. SHRIMATI  POONAM  MAHAJAN:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government imports coking coal from Australia, Canada and the United States;
- (b) if so, the percentage of coking coal imported from these countries;
- (c) whether the Government aims to reduce the percentage of coking coal imported from Australia;
- (d) if so, the details on the percentage amount of decrease in the amount of coking coal imported from Australia; and
- (e) whether the Government aims to increase or decrease the amount of thermal coal imported from Australia and if so, the details thereof?

## Answer

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

(a)&(b): During FY 2018-19, import of coking coal was 51.84 MT (Prov.). The  details of coking coal imported from Australia, Canada and the United States is given below:-

| Country   | Imported Coking Coal (MT) in 2018-19 (Provisional)   | Imported Coking Coal (MT) in 2018-19 (Provisional)   |
|-----------|------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|
|           | Quantity                                             | Percentage Share                                     |
| 36.930    | 71.24                                                | Australia                                            |
| 4.294     | 8.28                                                 | Canada                                               |
| 4.133     | 7.97                                                 | USA                                                  |
| 6.481     | 12.50                                                | Others                                               |
| 51.838    | 100                                                  | Total                                                |

(c)to(d): The  entire  demand  of  coking  coal  is  not  met  from  domestic production as the supply of high quality coal/ coking coal (low-ash-coal) in the country is limited and thus no option is left but to resort to import of coking  coal.  As  per  the  import  policy,  coal  is  kept  under  Open  General License (OGL) and consumers are free to import coal from the source of their choice  as  per  their  contractual  prices  on  payment  of  applicable  duty. Government does not interfere in the process of import of coal.

## :: 2 ::

Hence,  coking  coal  will  continue  to  be  imported  as  there  is  limited availability of coking coal in the country. Further, power plants designed on imported coal will also continue to import coal.

Reduction in Import of coal in the country is always a priority area of the Government. In order to increasing the availability of coking coal/thermal coal, following steps are taken by the Government:

-  Coal  India  Limited  (CIL)  has  planned  to  increase  coking  coal production substantially.
-  Notification of additional 2 coking coal grades viz. W-V & W-VI.
-  New 9 coking coal washeries being set up by CIL by 2020-21.
-  Long term Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) with Steel companies -10-15 years' linkage to Steel Sector.
-  Supply  of  washed  coking  coal  to  Steel  sector proposed  to  be enhanced to meet the demand of that sector.

(e): During 2018-19, the import of thermal coal from Australia was 23.52 MT. In order to increase domestic availability of thermal coal, the following steps are being taken:

-  CIL  and  its  subsidiaries  are  going  for  higher  capacity  mega mines (Capacities > 10 MTY) with high mechanization.
-  CIL  has  already  introduced  state  of  the  art  technology  to improve its work efficiency. High capacity Heavy Earth Moving Machinery  (HEMMs)  like  42  cum  Shovel  with  240  T  Rear Dumper have been introduced for this purpose.
-  Surface Miners have been introduced in opencast mines in a big way to improve operational efficiency & to cater environmental needs  by  CIL.  During  2018-19,  in  CIL,  around  50%  of  the opencast  coal  production  was  through  Surface  miners  and  is likely to further increase in subsequent years.

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