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India, World's No. 2 Coal Buyer, Plans to Cut Imports by a Third

  • Jump in domestic, renewable output to help cut imports by 2024
  • Imports seen below 150 million tons, people familiar say
Front-loaders arrange stacks of coal as a freight train sits on rail tracks at Krishnapatnam Port in Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Front-loaders arrange stacks of coal as a freight train sits on rail tracks at Krishnapatnam Port in Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

India’s coal ministry is preparing a plan to cut imports of the fuel by at least a third over the next five years, counting on an increase in domestic production and a jump in renewable output, according to people familiar with the plan.

Imports are seen falling to below 150 million tons by the year ending March 2024, down from 235.2 million tons India got from overseas in the last fiscal year, the people said, asking not to be named as the five-year plan is still being finalized. To meet the import reduction goal, state miner Coal India Ltd. will aim to raise its annual output to 880 million tons by fiscal year 2024, a compounded annual growth of 7.7% through the period.