Coal India is on track to achieve the 700 million tonnes (mt) production target for 2022-23. The public sector miner has produced 619.7 mt in the 11 months of the ongoing fiscal, posting a growth of 14.3 per cent over the corresponding previous period.

Coal India produced 80.3 mt in March 2022 and the same production number could take Coal India to its target production in the current fiscal. The miner had begun 2022- 23 chasing its production target of 700 mt with an asking growth rate of 12.4 per cent.

A consistent double-digit growth rate this year meant the annual asking growth rate has come down to 0.07 per cent by February end.

“The company is aiming to augment the growth further in March 2023 and any increase would have supplementary influence over the target,” a senior official of the company said.

All Coal India subsidiaries have recorded production growth on an annual basis while Dhanbad-based Bharat Coking Coal Limited has already wrapped up its annual production target of 32 mt on February 27.

Between April 2022 and February 2023, Coal India’s total supply stood at 630.5 mt — a growth of 5.1 per cent compared with 599.8 mt in the year-ago period. In the 11-month period, supply to the power sector was 534 mt, which is 9.6 per cent more than the previous year.

Allaying concerns over coal availability before the peak power demand rise in the summer season, Coal India said that it will go past the annual supply programme for the power sector of 565 mt for 2022-23 by at least 25 mt more.

Even with the rising supply, the coal stock at the pitheads was at 50 mt at the end of February. Coal India further said that with 21 per cent growth in overburden removal in February, the production momentum is expected to persist going forward.