Production in 2021-22 was 622.6 million tonnes.
• Once the company meets the annual production target of over 12 per cent growth set by the government for the first time, it will be another feather in the cap of Coal India.
Coal India is most likely to surpass the ambitious 700 million tonne production target by March 2023, Chairman Pramod Agarwal said on January 1, 2023. He said a 'price revision' for dry fuel is necessary to adequately compensate the company.
Once the company meets the annual production target of over 12 per cent growth set by the government for the first time, it will be another feather in Coal India's cap. Production in 2021-22 was 622.6 million tonnes.
To meet India's growing energy demand, the Kolkata-headquartered company is extracting more coal, however, at the same time, it is taking several measures to reduce emissions to support the country's net zero target by 2070. Was'.
“The target of 700 million tonnes is challenging and ambitious in itself. So far we are ahead of the progressive target. In December, we achieved 101 per cent of the year-on-year target. Our coal companies are working hard. The target is to stay ahead and cross the target of 700 million tonnes, of which we are confident," Agarwal said in an interview with PTI.
Aggarwal said the challenge in the fourth quarter would be to grow from a high base of 209 million tonnes in the January-March period of the last fiscal.
"We will not count on the pace of production. One bright spot for us is the robust growth of 19 per cent in overburden removal which will help us ramp up production in the coming months," he added.
By December 2022, Coal India has achieved a growth of 16 per cent in production to about 479 million tonnes and offtake of 508 million tonnes.
In the current fiscal, the coal giant was internally working on an actual target of 670-680 million tonnes of production as against 622 million tonnes last year, but the "all-out effort" by the miner gave it confidence of achieving the feat. . ,
On capital expenditure, Agarwal said such expenditure "increased by 33 per cent to Rs 7,027 crore in the first half of this fiscal" as compared to the same period in FY22, with emphasis on coal evacuation infrastructure. And it is expected that the capex (capital expenditure) is likely to reach ₹16,500 crore by the end of FY23.
“Capex has more than doubled in a span of two years to Rs 15,401 crore in FY22 from the level of Rs 6,270 crore in FY20. It is necessary that production as well as capex are increased to sustain the long term growth momentum. It grew mainly on land acquisition, introduction of modern fleet and mechanized evacuation infrastructure," he said.
In the first half of FY 2022-23, most of the capital expenditure was spread over coal extraction infrastructure, laying rail lines and sidings to move more coal in future.
On revision of coal prices, Agarwal said, "We have kept coal prices untouched for about five years in coal consuming regions of the country, which has helped in controlling inflation to an extent as Any increase in prices has an impact. Our intention is to ensure availability of affordable power as thermal power plants account for 80 per cent of our supply."
"But as a commercial corporate entity, we need to be adequately compensated and price revision is necessary," he said.
The miner is absorbing increased input costs, particularly on account of explosives and diesel.
Responding to a question on an imminent wage settlement, the Coal India chief said, "Wage negotiations are underway and we hope to reach a settlement at the earliest on terms agreeable to both sides. For this, we have started making budget provision on a quarterly basis from July 2021, which is the effective month of the new salary.
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