India's coal industry in flux as government sets ambitious coal production targets

Coal consumption in India, particularly in the electric power sector, is outpacing India's domestic production. From 2005 to 2012, India's coal production grew by only 4.7% per year to about 600 million metric tons while the country's coal-fired electric power capacity grew by a much faster rate, reaching 150 gigawatts. To help resolve the shortfall in coal supply, India has set a coal production target of 1.5 billion metric tons by 2020. More »