According to the Ministry of Coal, India targets to produce more than one billion tonne (bt) coal during 2023-24.
About 780 million tonne (mt) is targeted from Coal India Limited (CIL), 75 mt from Singareni Collieries Company Limited and 162 mt from captive and commercial mines. A total of 290 mines are operational in CIL, out of which 97 mines produce over one million tonne per year. For all 97 such coal mines, issues of land acquisition, forest clearance, environment clearance, rail connectivity and road connectivity have been discussed and time-lines fixed. With continued effort of coal companies, out of 97 coal mines, there are no pending issues in 56 mines. Only 41 mines have 61 issues, for which continued co-ordination and monitoring is being carried out by top management of coal companies with state govternment authorities concerned and the central ministries. Notably, during 2021-22, CIL had produced 622 mt; and during 2022-23, registering a growth of over 16 per cent, 513 mt have been produced so far. It is expected that CIL will surpass the target of 700 mt fixed for current fiscal.