Coal news and updates

Coal industry registers 16-month high growth in October

The cumulative index till October rose by 13.1% from the corresponding period a year ago, the government said.

The combined index of these core industries registered an increase of 12.1% in October compared with October 2022.

Coal industry showcased a 16-month high growth of 18.4% at 172.6 points in October compared with 145.8 points in the same period a year ago on the back of rise in production of coal, according to the Index of eight core Industries (ICI) released by the commerce ministry.

The cumulative index till October rose by 13.1% from the corresponding period a year ago, the government said. The combined index of these core industries registered an increase of 12.1% in October compared with October 2022.

ICI measures the combined and individual production performance of eight core industries – cement, coal, crude oil, electricity, fertilisers, natural gas, refinery products, and steel. Coal production in October reached 78.65 million tonne, up 18.6% from 66.32 million tonne in the corresponding month last year. 

Various strategic initiatives including augmenting domestic production through auction-based regime for commercial mining, engaging Mine Developer cum Operators to ramp up output and reopening of discontinued mines on a revenue sharing model helped in achieving this growth, the government said.