Demand To Rise In Post-Covid Era: Coal India Chief

Coal production in the country needs to be scaled up as demand for the dry fuel is expected to rise with increasing economic activities in the post-Covid era.

Coal India Ltd. chairman and managing director Pramod Agrawal said the miner is emphasising on raising its output as it is committed to fulfil the energy requirement of the country.

Agrawal inspected mining operations at Talcher belt of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., a subsidiary of CIL, in Odisha.

"The country's need is to produce more and more coal," he said, highlighting the prospect of demand surge for the dry fuel with increasing industrial activities in the post-Covid period.

There was a sudden fall in demand due to the pandemic, which had forced the miner's subsidiaries to slow down production and focus on other works like removal of overburden and strengthening of transportation infrastructure.

The Maharatna PSU will cross the 650 million tonne production mark during the 2020-21 financial year, he said.