India Plans to Raise Coal Output

India is planning to raise its coal production target, and the new government is committed to the reform of the sector, including divestment in coal-mining monopoly Coal India Ltd., the country’s coal minister said Wednesday.

Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal said reforms will be pursued, but meanwhile state-run coal miners including Coal India will likely raise their production targets to match increases in local demand.
“It is imperative that coal production should be increased beyond the set target …We want to set strict targets for our companies to make sure our production grows quickly,” he said.

However, he added, “Raising production in the next three months will be difficult because of rains. We’ll at least try to maintain output.”

Faced with rising imports, India has been desperately trying to raise production, but successive governments have failed to introduce reforms that would open the sector to private investment. An industry regulator is also needed to shepherd through gradual reforms.

Only a few state-run companies are currently allowed to mine domestic coal commercially. Coal India, one of the world’s largest coal companies by output, produces nearly 85% of the country’s output.

Wall Street Journal (through Google News)