MONTHLY SUMMARY OF DOMESTIC COAL Comparative Price of Domestic Coal: Power/Non-power. *The price shown in the Chart below is without: (a) Surface Transportation Charges. (b) State specific taxes. (c) Coal company or area wise charges if any. (d) Evacuation Facility Charges INR 50 per tonne w.e.f. 00:00 of 20.12.2017 GCV (Kcal/kg) (Mid-value)
G3-6400-6700
G5-5800-6100
G7-5200-5500
G10-4300-4600
G11-4000-4300
G12-3700-4000
Basic ROM price (Rs./te)
3144/ 3144
2737/2737
1926/2311
1024/1228
955/1145
886/1063
Tentative Ex-Mine Price*
4447/4447
3941/3941
2932/3411
1809/2063
1724/1959
1638/1858
COAL * The government is apparently going the whole hog in removing the impediments to investments in coal mining. Close on the heels of a Cabinet decision earlier this month to remove end-use restrictions on miners in the sector that virtually abolished the concept of captive coal mining, the Union coal ministry has now floated a discussion paper that proposes to do away with the requirement of prior experience for prospective bidders for coal blocks. * Indian Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi has announced that the government plans to stop the substitutable import of coal within the next three to four years. Joshi said that the government may conduct an auction of 100 fully explored blocks. The government recently introduced an ordinance to amend regulations to open up coal mining to other firms outside of the steel and power sectors.
RAILWAYS * To increase its share of freight from the automobile sector, the Railways has designed wagons that can carry not just cars, but also trucks and tractors, a senior official of the national transporter said. The detailed drawing of the "higher automobile carrier wagons" is in the final stages, Member, Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agarwal, said.
POWER * India’s electricity grid operators will have to install firewalls and other measures used by companies to avert an attack on their information technology systems and check rising hacking incidents of power networks across the world. Grid operators and regulatory agencies will need to have a continuity plan handy in the event of a cyber attack, according to draft rules published by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
34 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
* India is all set to cross the 100-GW renewable energy capacity mark in 2020 and can make rapid strides towards the ambitious 175-GW clean energy target by 2022, provided the government keeps a close eye on key issues and deals with those well in time. The government however needs to promote storage to ensure 24×7 clean energy supply as coalfired thermal power still remains the base load in the country.
CEMENT * Growth of Indian cement demand fell short of expectations in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20 and no major recovery is expected until after the 2020 monsoon, according to analysts. The sector is expected to end both the calendar as well as the financial year with flat demand growth, which is well below expectations for 5 to 6 per cent growth forecasts at the start of the year. * As India seeks to build infrastructure that can undergird its ambitions of expanding into a $5-trillion economy by the middle of this decade, consumption of cement is set to increase by up to 6% immediately in the country which is the world’s second biggest market for the primary building material.
STEEL * Domestic prices of steel, of which India is among the three top global producers, are expected to climb 10-12 per cent this year, with the government’s measures to revamp infrastructure and consumption likely reviving demand for the alloy from carmakers and construction companies. * Driven by 'Make in India' initiative, slashing imports, keeping a tab on domestic prices and exploring alternate overseas sources for coking coal are set to top the government's agenda for the steel sector in 2020 while players expect a "break out year" for the industry.
