A general view of the open cast coal field at Topa coal mine in Ramgarh district, Jharkhand

 India’s thermal power plants (TPPs) are expected to consume 906 million tonnes (mt) of coal in the next financial year, beginning April 2025, the Coal Ministry said on Friday.

“For FY26, Power Ministry has already communicated their demand to us that is at 906 mt,” Coal Ministry Additional Secretary Vismita Tej said.

Coal accounts for around 70 per cent of India’s power generation.

On coal stocks at TPP end, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said that the stock position is comfortable. “On January 24 (2025), we crossed 47 mt, which was the stock position at the thermal power plant (TPP) end on March 31, 2024,” he noted.

On coal stocks, Tej said “The Inter-ministerial committee (IMC) meets at ministry level twice a week and at Secretary level at least once a month. To have a comfortable summer at least 50 mt is required at the TPP end. As of today, we have a stock position of more than 49 mt. We are confident that we are well prepared for the summer ahead.”

Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy emphasised that reducing coal imports and increasing domestic production is the focus of the Ministry.

The Ministry’s efforts have significantly reduced reliance on imported coal. Between April and November 2024, coal imports declined by 5.35 per cent, saving around $3.91 billion (?30,007.26 crore). Notably, coal imports for domestic power plant blending fell by 23.56 per cent on an annual basis.

India’s coal production has reached an all-time high of 997.82 mt in FY24, marking a significant rise from 609.18 mt in FY15, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.64 per cent over the past decade. In FY24 alone, production has surged by 11.71 per cent compared to the previous year.

A landmark policy reform came with the introduction of commercial coal mine auctions in 2020, encouraging private sector participation and modern technological adoption.

As of January 2025, the Ministry of Coal has allotted 184 mines, with 65 blocks receiving Mine Opening Permissions. Total production from these blocks has reached 136.59 mt, registering a 34.20 per cent y-o-y increase. This is expected to exceed the 170 mt target in FY25.