NEW DELHI | Nov 27, 2016: State-run Coal India's fuel supply to the power sector witnessed a decline of 3.7 per cent to 216.5 million tonnes during the April-October period this fiscal, even as the Centre claimed the demand for coal has started picking up.

Coal India (CIL) supplied 225.1 million tonnes (MT) of coal to the power sector in the April-October period last fiscal, according to the latest government data.

While the dispatch of fossil fuel by CIL in October 2016 stood at 31.6 MT against 34.5 MT in same month a year ago, it said.

The supply of coal by Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) during the April-October period marginally dropped by 1.2 per cent to 26.6 MT, against 26.9 MT in the corresponding seven months of the previous fiscal.

SCCL is a government coal-mining company jointly owned by Telangana and the Centre on a 51:49 equity basis.

The government last month said there were no plans to cut down coal production as the demand had already picked up.

In October, the demand had started picking up for both coal and power sectors, the government said.

CIL, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production, is eyeing 598 MT production in 2016-17. CIL has a target to produce 1 billion tonnes of fossil fuel by 2020.

(Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/)