India will need to import coal till 2017, admits government

29 Apr 2013

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India, despite being one of the world's biggest producers of coal, may have to continue expensive imports of the fuel into 2017, the government told parliament today.

India imported 110.42 million tonnes of coal between April 2012 and January 2013, minister of state for coal Pratik Prakashbabu Patil told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He said the country imported coal mainly from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and the US in the above period.

''It is estimated that there will remain a gap between demand and domestic production even by the terminal year of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) which will need to be met through imports,'' Patil added.

The total production of coal in the country during the last financial year was 557.5 million tonnes, he said.

Patil added that coal is under open general licence and hence can be imported at prevailing international prices by anyone through paying the applicable import duty.

''Apart from allowing imports of coal, the government has taken measures to step up domestic production to the extent feasible,'' he said.

The steps include modernisation of technology, infrastructure development, monitoring of coal blocks, and periodical review of projects under way, besides development of some blocks owned by Coal India Ltd (CIL) by engaging mine developers and operators, according to Patil.

His statements however, commentators believe, will be taken with a pinch of salt by most observers, as coal production in India in monopolised by the state-run CIL, which is a byword for inefficiency. Most experts agree that a deregulation of the sector is imperative.

But instead the government is hit by an alleged scam in allocations of coal blocks to private developers for captive uses, which is likely to further delay decisive action in the vital sector.

Moreover, as an employee in the coal supply industry told this correspondent, an aspect of the 'coalgate' scam that hasn't yet made headlines is that much of the coal produced by 'captive' mines is quietly diverted to the open market, with the connivance of politicians across party lines.

But that is another story that has yet not come to light.

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