English Article

Is The Coal Crisis Over?

The supply of coal in India is well below the demand

Initially, there was a huge debate on whether there was a coal crisis at all. We aren’t discussing coal any more. Hence, wasn’t there a crisis? Or, if there was one, is it all over? “Crisis” is a subjective term. There are no objective criteria of determining whether there is a crisis or not. However, “shortage” can be determined objectively. No one can deny the fact that the supply of coal in India is well below the demand. Whereas the demand is nearly a billion million tons (MT), the supply is well below 800 MT within the country. When this shortage becomes acute, in terms of the availability of coal at power plants, it is sometimes called a crisis. The acute shortage can be on the account of production, an increased demand or a failure of supply chain management when the stocks are sufficient at the pit head but requisite supply is not made to the power plants.