India's Coal Output Surges 18.5% in Feb, Captive Mines Lead Growth

The strong year-on-year growth in coal production reflects the sustained operational momentum and progressive scaling up of mining activities across the sector, the statement said.

For the financial year 2025-26 up to February, cumulative coal production from these mines registered a growth of 11.58 per cent year-on-year, while cumulative dispatches recorded a 6.78 per cent increase over the corresponding period of the previous year.

The sustained expansion in production and offtake reflects strengthened operational efficiency, accelerated capacity augmentation, and improved coordination across the mining value chain. There was a steady upward trend, clearly depicting progressive improvement in both production and dispatch performance, as per the statement.

The Ministry attributes the sector's improved performance to strategic policy measures, rigorous monitoring, and sustained support to stakeholders. These interventions have played a pivotal role in expediting operational approvals, enhancing production capacities, and driving overall growth in coal output and dispatches.

"Going forward, efforts will remain focused on maintaining stable production levels, minimising supply disruptions, and reinforcing the sector's vital role in meeting the country's increasing energy requirements," the statement added.

As part of the coal sector reforms, the government has moved from an earlier restrictive model to granting coal mining blocks pursuant to a competitive bidding process, and from prescribing specific end-use to permitting commercial sale of coal. The auction-based regime introduced in 2014 allowed private sector participation, but it was limited to captive usage in own end-use plants. Now, the sector has been opened up for commercial coal mining by private players in 2020.

Commercial coal block auctions are conducted in a two-stage online bidding process, which involves technical screening and submission of competitive initial price offers in the first stage, and a second and final stage where better price offers are intended to be received.

- IANS