Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India will be able to save Rs.40,000 crore annually because of the continuing rise in production of coal.
This would happen in the next 2-3 years once India completely stops thermal coal production.
India’s power sector is largely dependent on coal – which is the source for more than 50 per cent of India’s installed capacity.
A very robust increase in coal production in the last two years of the NDA government has helped in the improvement of the power generation capacity and meet the demand.
Power blackouts were a common feature during the UPA regime.
Things changed under the NDA government. Increasing coal production was made a top priority with Goyal himself taking charge of the same.
In October 2015, imports dropped by 27.16 per cent to 12.6 million tonnes (MT) from a year-ago period all because of a rise in production.
Sample this: In four years preceding the NDA government, CIL produced a total of 46 MT of coal. In 2014-15, after the NDA came to power, CIL produced 32 MT production.
The only coal that would have to be imported is coking coal, which is used in steel production.