Russia is interested in increasing coal exports to India to tap into growing demand for the fuel in the Asian country, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

China remains the biggest buyer of Russian coal but Moscow has said India may overtake it by the start of the next decade as Beijing plans cutbacks on coal usage for power generation.

India has increasingly relied on coal to address record power demand, with the rise in coal-fired power output earlier this year outpacing renewable energy growth for the first time since at least 2019.

Its coal production in the last fiscal year to March 31 rose to a record 997.828 million metric tons, a 12% rise from a year ago. More than 75% of India's power generation was from coal in 2023.

India imported 176 million tons of thermal coal in 2023, driven mainly by power plants. Russian exports to India reached 26.2 million tons last year, up from 20 million tons in 2022, according to Russia's energy ministry.

Russia is already the largest supplier of crude oil to India thanks to diversification of trade ties away from Europe, once Moscow's key business partner, due to a severe political standoff with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.

"Russian coal-producing enterprises have significant resources and are interested in expanding its presence in the fast-growing Indian market," Novak said, according to a transcript of his remarks released by his office. He made the comments at a meeting with reporters.

Despite close political and business ties, India is wary of sanctions against Russia. It said last month that the country would not buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, which is sanctioned by Western countries.