India's coal imports

Why in news?

• India’s thermal coal imports rose 12.6 percent to nearly 200 million tonnes in 2019. This is the second straight year of growth in shipments of the fuel.

• Imports of coking coal – used mainly in the manufacturing of steel – fell marginally, following two straight years of increase.

About India's coal imports

• Coal is among the top five commodities imported by India, the world’s largest consumer, importer and producer of the fuel.

• Imports of thermal coal - mainly used for power generation - jumped 12.6 per cent to 197.84 million tonnes in 2019. However, imports of coking coal - used mainly in the manufacturing of steel - fell marginally, following two straight years of increase, government data showed.

• India imported 51.33 million tonnes of coking coal in 2019, down from 51.63 million tonnes in 2018, the data showed.

• This indicates the second straight year of growth in shipments of the fuel despite attempts by the government to cut imports.

• Traders said coal imports grew largely due to lower production by Coal India Ltd., whose output fell for five consecutive months ended November due to the highest annual rainfall in 25 years and frequent outages including strikes by workers and locals.

• Higher coal shipments to India were also due to increased imports by Indian utilities.

• The import of thermal coal is mainly used for power generation.

• The import of coking coal is used mainly in the manufacturing of steel.

• Indonesia accounted for nearly 60% of India’s thermal coal imports in the April-December period, government data showed, while South Africa accounted for 22% and Russia and Australia accounting for over 5% each.

Import of coal

• As per the present Import policy, coal can be freely imported (under Open General Licence) by the consumers themselves considering their needs based on their commercial prudence.

• Coking Coal is being imported by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and other Steel manufacturing units mainly to bridge the gap between the requirement and indigenous availability and to improve the quality.

• Coal based power plants, cement plants, captive power plants, sponge iron plants, industrial consumers and coal traders are importing non-coking coal. Coke is imported mainly by Pig-Iron manufacturers and Iron & Steel sector consumers using mini-blast furnace.

Classification of coal

• Coal is originated from organic matter wood. When large tracts of forests are buried under sediments, wood is burnt and decomposed due to heat from below and pressure from above. The phenomenon makes coal but takes centuries to complete.

• Classification of Coal can be done on the basis of carbon content and time period.

• On the basis of carbon content it can be classified into following three types:

• Anthracite: It is the best quality of coal with highest calorific value and carries 80 to 95% carbon content. It ignites slowly with a blue flame and found in small quantities in Jammu and Kashmir.

• Bituminous: It has a low level of moisture content with 60 to 80% of carbon content and has a high calorific value. Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have deposits of Bituminous.

• Lignite carries 40 to 55% carbon content and is often brown in colour with high moisture content thus, gives smoke when burnt. Rajasthan, Lakhimpur (Assam) and Tamil Nadu has deposits of Lignite.

• Peat is the first stage of transformation from wood to coal with low calorific value and less than 40% carbon content.

Coal Reserves

• As a result of exploration carried out up to the maximum depth of 1200 m, a cumulative total of 319.02 Billion tonnes of Geological Resources of Coal have so far been estimated in the country till April, 2018.

• Hard coal deposit spread over 27 major coalfields, are mainly confined to eastern and south central parts of the country. The lignite reserves stand at a level around 36 billion tonnes, of which 90% occur in the southern State of Tamil Nadu.

• Top 5 States in terms of total coal reserves in India are: Jharkhand > Odisha > Chhattisgarh > West Bengal > Madhya Pradesh.

Prelims Question

Q.Consider the following statements regarding India’s coal imports:
1.Indonesia accounts for majority of India’s thermal coal imports.
2.Import of coking coal is more compared to thermal coal in terms of quantity.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)1 only
b)2 only
c)Both 1 and 2
d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to the Prelims Question