By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Coal is continuing to ensure reliable baseload power to support core industries such as steel and cement that underpin the economic growth of the country.
The coal production in the country continues at a pace matching with the prevailing demands of the consumer and building adequate stocks at the mine-end for maintaining adequate supplies to the consumers as per their requirements with the continued support of Railways.
The pithead coal stock at the mines of Coal India Limited (CIL), which was 106.78 MT as on 1st April 2025 has grown to about 125.54 MT as on 18th March, 2026. Further, there is around 5.75 MT of coal at the mines of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and another 15.75 MT coal at the mines of captive/commercial mines and about 12 MT in transit & about 5.49 MT in ports and good-shed sidings.
This coal stock is in addition to the coal already available at the power plants which is around 53.41 MT, adequate for nearly 23 days at the present rate of consumption.
Coal India Limited is taking adequate measures to ensure supply of coal to all consumers including the small, medium and other consumers. As a proactive step, CIL has planned 29 e-auctions in the month of March 2026 offering about 23.56 MT of coal. Out of these 29 auctions, 5 auctions have already been conducted since 12th March, 2026, wherein 73.1 lakh ton of coal was offered and 31.96 lakh ton of coal has been booked, indicating adequacy of coal offered in the e-auctions. In addition to this, CIL has also taken necessary action to ensure coal availability to the small, medium and other consumers through the State Nominated Agencies (SNAs) route and requested the State Governments to provide the additional coal requirement, which can be met in full to avoid any energy shortages. The coal offtake of the States through the SNAs is being constantly monitored by CIL to ensure that uninterrupted supplies are ensured.
The Ministry of Coal remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering a stable, transparent, and performance-driven ecosystem through sustained policy facilitation, robust monitoring mechanisms, and proactive stakeholder engagement. These concerted efforts are aimed at ensuring reliable coal availability, enabling uninterrupted operations across critical sectors, and effectively meeting the nation’s growing energy demands, thereby advancing the long-term national vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
