Lok Sabha Question No. 654 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-23
Subject: Coal Shortage
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Shri Ramashankar  Vidharthi Rajbhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 654

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025

## Coal Shortage

## †654. Shri Ramashankar Vidharthi Rajbhar:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has data on coal production and supply in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether any power plant had to be shut down due to coal shortage during the last three years and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of reasons for coal being imported despite large reserves of coal in the country?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF COAL AND MINES (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a) & (b): The details of State-wise coal production and supply in the Country for FY 202425 (provisional) are given below.

| State          |   Production |   [Figures in Million Tonnes] Supply |
|----------------|--------------|--------------------------------------|
| Assam          |         0.2  |                                 0.26 |
| Chhattisgarh   |       204.96 |                               207.69 |
| Jharkhand      |       206.17 |                               202.24 |
| Madhya Pradesh |       167.57 |                               140.32 |
| Maharashtra    |        70.78 |                                70.34 |
| Odisha         |       269.36 |                               254.63 |
| Telangana      |        71.51 |                                67.76 |
| Uttar Pradesh  |        20.86 |                                46.4  |
| West Bengal    |        36.09 |                                35.7  |

(c): During the last three financial years, FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25, the total receipt of coal at domestic coal based (DCB) power plants has been higher than their consumption. There was no coal shortage. In fact, coal stock at DCB power plants has increased from 24.2 MT as on 31.03.2022 to 34.6 MT (on 31.03.2023) and 47.8 MT (on 31.03.2024). The coal stock was 55.5 MT as on 31.03.2025 which was sufficient for an average of more than 20 days at a requirement

of 85% Plant Load Factor (PLF). However, during last three years, few units of DCB plants have reported outage for some period mainly because of coal unloading issues at plant, payment issues and coal in transit.

(d): Most of the coal requirement in the country is met through indigenous production and supply. However, certain sectors import coal due to specific needs, such as steel sector imports coal primarily due to the limited availability of coking coal within the country. Imported coalbased  power  plants  rely  on  imported  coal  because  of  their  design  specifications.  Some consumers in the Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) also import coal based on cost economics and commercial prudence.

Under the current import policy, coal is placed under the Open General License (OGL). This allows consumers to freely import coal from any source of their choice, at contracted prices, by paying the applicable duties.

Despite  this,  the  Government  is  focused  on  increasing  domestic  coal  production  and minimizing non-essential coal imports. This strategy has led to a declining trend in coal imports as domestic supply improves.

During the year 2024-25, India imported a total of 243.62 million tonnes (MT) of coal, which is a reduction from 264.53 MT in the previous year. This decline resulted in a foreign exchange saving of approximately ₹60,681.67 crore during FY 2024-25 compared to FY 2023-24.

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