In his Budget speech for 2016-17, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the country has witnessed highest coal production growth in over two decades.

Coal India Limited (CIL) has halted production at several mines owing to surplus stocks at all thermal power plants in the country.

To ensure uninterrupted coal supply to small scale factories that cannot procure from Coal India Limited (CIL), the coal ministry is contemplating allocating 8-10 blocks to state-run undertakings, which can then sell coal to these factories.

The new national power tariff policy approved by the Union Cabinet is a step forward in power reforms. The sector needs reforms in all areas of production, distribution and consumption.

Coal India Ltd (CIL) subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has unveiled a `20,000 crore capital expenditure (capex) plan to reach the envisaged output of 250 million tonne (MT) by 2020. MCL is tipped to be CIL´s biggest producer, overshooting South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and accounting for a fourth of CIL´s estimated production of one billion tonne by 2020.

Buoyed by the output growth of 9% by CIL, the government has asked the world´s largest coal miner to ensure that it meets the target of 550 million tonnes for the current fiscal. Coal India, which accounts for over 80% of the domestic coal production is eyeing an output of one billion tonnes by 2020.

As Piyush Goyal, union coal and energy minister, remains firm on the decision to offload an additional 10% stake in Coal India, bringing down the government´s share in the state-owned miner from the existing 79.65%, he is challenged with another outcry poised to break out March-end this year. Four major trade unions affiliated with the Congress-backed INTUC and the Leftist CITU, AITUC and HMS together - representing about 80% of the miner´s workforce - have consented to a series of action plan to protest the disinvestment move as well as force the government to address key issues related to contractual workers.

Faced with nearly 40 million tonnes (MT) of coal stocks in Coal India, the coal ministry is devising a plan to clear off the stock, which may include reduction of prices as well.

The Coal Ministry has set a target to start mining in 34 Schedule-II coal mines by March 31, 2016, said a top ministry official.