Explained: Why India is facing a shortage of coal

Amid rising demand following the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, India is facing a severe shortage of coal on the domestic front. While Coal India has assured of scaling up production to meet the current demand, rising prices of imported coal has made it difficult for the Indian firms to run their operations smoothly.

Amid rising demand following the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, India is facing a severe shortage of coal on the domestic front. While Coal India has assured of scaling up production to meet the current demand, rising prices of imported coal has made it difficult for Indian firms to run their operations smoothly.

With rising power demands in the domestic sector, Indian utilities are facing a severe shortage of coal, which is the primary fuel powering 70 per cent of India's energy consumption. Even as Coal India, the country's largest coal producer, has announced to increase supply to meet the domestic demand, many coal-fired power plants have a few days of stock left, which is unlikely to be met in the short time unless coal is imported.