Parliamentary panel suggests phasing out of coal imports

Source: The post is based on the article “Parliamentary panel suggests phasing out of coal imports” published in Livemint on 6th August 2022.

What is the News?

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy in its report has suggested the Government has to ensure optimum utilization of locally-produced coal through effective collaboration so that coal imports can be phased out over time.

What has been the trend in coal imports to India?

The Ministry of Power and Ministry of Coal have taken efforts that led to a 56% drop in coal imports for blending in FY21.

However, higher international prices hit imported coal-based power plants. This led to increased demand for domestic coal and consequently reduced domestic coal stocks at power plants.

This forced the government to float tenders for coal imports.

What can be done to reduce coal imports?

The Ministry of Power and Ministry of Coal should make concerted efforts for optimum utilization of domestic coal reserves.

For instance, the quality of indigenous coal can be enhanced and the design of boilers at power plants can be modified to enable them to run on domestic coal. 

Moreover, the central government can persuade state governments to resolve issues that lead to delays in the operationalization of coal blocks.