Coal India plans significant cut down in thermal coal imports in the next few years: Coal Ministry official
New Delhi/IBNS: India plans to significantly cut down its thermal coal imports to save foreign exchange and create jobs by the development of new and existing coal blocks, according to a senior official of the Coal Ministry on Tuesday.
M Nagaraju, a joint secretary in Coal Ministry, said in a seminar that India can substitute at least 110 -120 million tonnes of coal import with its available resources in the course of next few years, according to a Reuters report.
In FY 2020, India spent 1.58 million rupees on importing 247 million tonnes of coal, including 197 million tonnes of thermal grade coal, he said.
India in June launched an auction of 41 coal blocks with an estimated output of nearly one-third of total national output.
Increasing local coal production will boost employment in central India where the majority of the coal blocks are located, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to be a net coal exporter. India has the fourth-largest coal reserve in the world and it is the second-largest importer, consumer and producer of coal after China.
Nagaraju said coal will continue to play an important role in the energy mix of the country for the next 30 years, the Reuters report said.
India's thermal coal demand contracted this year following economic slowdown triggered by coronavirus induced lockdown.
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