Question : Clean Coal

(a) whether coal is going to become an important part of economy for decades;
(b) if so, whether coal will be a main source of electricity in the country for decades due to its abundance and cost advantage;
(c) if so, whether India needs to do more to attract foreign investment in technologies that can cut emissions from burning coal;
(d) if so, whether India has already sought foreign funds to move towards clean coal which can cut greenhouse gases emitted from burning coal by up to 30 per cent;
(e) whether Coal India plans to increase its production to about one billion tonnes by 2022; and
(f) if so, whether it has fallen short of its annual targets leading to higher imports by the country and if so, the steps taken in this regard?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COAL ( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a)&(b): Coal is the prime source of energy in India and is likely to continue in the years to come. This is primarily due to abundance of coal in India and that too at a cheaper rate. So, coal will continue to be the prime source of energy in India in near future. As per draft “New Energy Policy” prepared in NITI Aayog, coal will remain as an import source of energy and electricity, even in near future due to its abundance.

(c)&(d): Information is being collected from concerned ministries.

(e): The coal production target for Coal India Limited for FY 2018-19 is 650 Mt. based on the projections of power demand as envisaged by the Ministry of Power. Coal production target for Coal India Limited by 2022 has not been firmed up as demand forecast is awaited from various consuming sectors.

(f): Production target and achievement for the last three years and import of coal for the same period are as follows:
(Figs. in Mt.)

Head 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Production Target(BE) 507.00 550.00 598.61
Production Actual 494.23 538.75 554.13
Achievement(%) 97.48 97.95 92.56
Import* 217.783 203.949 190.953(Prov.)

The import of coal in India has come down from 217.783 Mt in 2014-15 to 190.953 Mt. in 2016-17.

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