PTI reported that According to Planning Commission, India's coal imports are likely to touch 185 million tonnes by 2017, almost 20% of the international dry fuel trade amid widening demand-supply deficit.

Projecting the imports to increase to 185 million tonnes by 2017 against 137 million tonnes by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), a draft paper by the Plan Panel on Energy for the 12th Plan (2012-17) has cautioned that there is an urgent need to take effective measures to step up coal production.

It said “If domestic supply does not match the target growth rate of 7.5% per year, the import demand will be higher.”

It also said “The projected level of imports of around 185 million tonnes is large keeping in mind that international trading in coal is only around 900 million tonnes to 1,000 million tonnes of the total consumption of over 6,000 million tonnes world over.”

It has also pointed out that the international availability of coal is going to be restricted due to concerns on climate change. It said “International prices of coal are also likely to remain high because of taxes which are being imposed by several coal producing countries, including Australia and Indonesia.”

The total demand of coal grew by about 8% during the Eleventh Plan against the domestic production growth of only 4.61%. The gap was filled by higher imports.

Source - PTI

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