India's thermal coal imports rose by 13% in 2019

Indonesia accounted for 60% of India's coal supply from April to December 2019.

Indian imports of thermal coal, which is mainly used for power generation, increased by nearly 13% in 2019, whereas imports of coking coal, which is used in steel production, dropped marginally. Indonesia was India’s main coal supplier (60%) over the April-December 2019 period, followed by South Africa (22%), Russia (5%) and Australia (5%). Thermal coal imports rose due to lower production by the major coal miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) and despite a 2.5% drop in coal-fired power generation in 2019, due to a broader economic slowdown reducing electricity demand.

In January 2020, the government promulgated the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 that aims at attracting investors in the coal mining sector by removing restrictions on end-use and prior experience in coal auctions. The objective is to foster investment in coal mining and to reduce imports, which reached $24b (INR1.7b) over the last fiscal year.

In August 2019, the government relaxed its investment rules to open coal mining to foreign players. The new regulation authorises 100% foreign direct investments (FDIs) in coal mining and all related processing activities, without approval from the government or from the Reserve Bank of India (direct route).

This article was originally published by Enerdata.