(a) whether coal is imported at a large scale due to poor heat value of the coal found in India;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the quantum of the coal in metric tonne imported during each of the last three years;
(d) the total funds being spent on the import of coal; and
(e) whether the Government proposes to end the import duty levied on coal so that domestic steel, electricity and cement companies desire proper benefits therefrom?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COAL, FINANCE & CORPORATE AFFAIRS
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a) & (b): Indian Coal, due to its drift origin, contains higher percentage of ash as compared to imported coal, resulting in lower heat value per tonne of coal. However, it does not effect Power Generation as most of the Power Plants are designed based on the quality of coal available in the country. Thus, large scale import of coal in the country does not take place due to poor heat value of Indian coal. In fact, coal import by power plants has reduced from 80.58 MT in 2015-16 to 56.41 MT in 2017-18. However, there is a gap between demand and domestic supply of coal which cannot be bridged completely as there is insufficient domestic availability of coking coal and power plants designed on imported coal will continue to import coal for their production.
(c) & (d): The quantity and value of import of coal during the last three years is given below:-
(Qty in Million Tonnes & Value in Million Rs.)
Years Quantity Value
2015-16 203.95 860338
2016-17 190.95 1002314
2017-18(P) 208.27 1384770
P = Provisional
(e): At present, import of coal attract 2.5% Basic Custom Duty (BCD) and there is no proposal to remove the import duty levied on coal.
<><><>