DOMESTIC CIL's coal quota under e-auction Lockdown effect: Core sector for non-power sector up 3-folds output crashes record 38.1% in in Apr April State-owned Coal India's fuel allocation under the exclusive e-auction scheme for the nonpower sector rose over three-folds to 3.91 million tonnes (MT) in April. Coal India Ltd (CIL) had allocated 1.20 MT of dry fuel to the sector under the scheme in April 2019, as per latest government data. This growth comes amid CIL looking to tap the non-power sector to consume its coal in the wake of a slump in demand for the dry fuel. For the entire fiscal (2019-20), the PSU's coal allocation under the scheme dropped to 8.03 MT from 11.36 MT in the previous year.No dry fuel was allocated in March 2020, whereas in the same month of 2019, 1.93 MT of coal was booked under the scheme, data showed. CIL, which has sufficient stock coal, is grappling with a slump in demand for the dry fuel. The power sector is one of the major consumers of Coal India.
16 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter May 2020
The output of India's eight core sectors shrank by a record 38.1 per cent in April after a nine per cent contraction in March, as factories remained shut nationwide and production came to a virtual halt amid the coronavirus lockdown. The core sector contraction in April represented the worst performance in the current series, but experts say the fall was expected and would slowly give way to lower rates of contraction in coming months. The infrastructure segment experienced the biggest production shocks. Steel production tumbled by a massive 83.9 per cent after March's 24 per cent fall. Cement production shrank by an equally large margin of 86 per cent, following a 25 per cent fall in March. Both sectors have been in the grips of volatility even before the lockdown but strict social distancing norms have meant that construction activities have been suspended across the country. While it was the sole sector experiencing growth
