India’s Coal Imports Decline by 7.9% to 243.62 Million Tonnes in FY25.

Economy Business

In May 2025, the Ministry of Coal (MoC) announced that India's coal imports declined by 7.9% to 243.62 Million Tonnes (MT) during the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), compared to 264.53 MT in FY24.


      - This reduction resulted in foreign exchange savings of approximately USD 7.93 billion (Rs. 60,681.67 crore) in FY25.

     

     

Main Point :-   (i) The Non-Regulated Sector (NRS), which includes cement, sponge iron, and captive power plants (excluding the power sector), recorded the sharpest decline in coal imports with an 8.95% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decrease during FY25.

      (ii) While coal-based power generation registered a 3.04% growth in FY25, coal imports for blending purposes by thermal power plants witnessed a significant decline of 41.4% compared to the previous fiscal year.

(iii) Initiatives such as Commercial Coal Mining and Mission Coking Coal, launched by the MoC to boost domestic coal production and reduce dependency on imports, resulted in a 5% increase in coal output during FY25 compared to FY24.

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