File Picture of a Coal Mine in Korba
Team News Riveting
Kolkata, August 8
Registering about 10 percent less production in the first four months of the financial year 2020-21, state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) may revise the output target.
The CIL had set a target to produce 710 million tonne (MT) of coal in the current fiscal.
“Given the situation, we are hopeful to end the year with 650-660 million tonne of production,” Coal India Chairman Pramod Agrawal said at a webinar organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce.
Covid-19 pandemic has affected demand for coal, he said, adding that however it has started to pick up now as the industries have commenced operations. The miner is witnessing a 7-8 per cent growth in demand in the month of August, he said.
If the Chairman’s prediction is taken into account, CIL has to revise its target for the FY21 by about 10 percent. The Maharatna PSU had produced 602 MT of coal last year as against a target of 630 million tonne.
Besides production, off-take of coal had also come down by 18 percent during first four months of FY21. As against the target of 200.09 MT, 164.02 MT could be lifted during the period.
The CIL had set a target of producing 175.46 MT of coal among all its entities; 158.37 MT could be achieved.
