India's April coal production hits record high at 73.02 million tonne

New Delhi [India], May 2 : India's coal production has made a new record for highest-ever production during the month of April 2023, achieving 73.02 million tonnes (MT) with a yearly growth of 8.67 per cent.
In April 2022, the total coal output was 67.20 million tonnes.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) alone reported production of 57.57 MT in Apr 2023 compared to 53.47 MT in April 2022, representing an increase of 7.67 per cent.
"Ministry of Coal has paved the way for releasing additional coal in the market by greater utilization of mining capacities of captive/private coal blocks which have led to increase in production of coal...," Ministry of Coal said in a release Monday.
Further, the total coal dispatch grew 11.76 per cent from 71.99 MT in April 2022 to 80.45 MT in April 2023. According to the ministry, this is mainly due to the initiatives taken to augment rail connectivity infrastructure for all major mines under 'PM Gati Shakti' to ensure faster evacuation.
With an objective to enhance coal availability, the Ministry of Coal has offered 103 coal/lignite blocks for auction under the 7th round of auction and 29 agreements have been signed for mines which were auctioned in the 6th round of auction. The cumulative Potential Recoverable Coal of 29 coal mines is 74 million tons annually.
"The government's initiatives to increase domestic production would lower dependence on imported coal and would result in considerable savings of foreign exchange," the ministry said.