NTPC captive coal output to nearly treble in 2018-19
NTPC is expected to end the current financial year with captive coal output of 7.25 million tonne, up a massive 170%, from 2.68 million tonne in the year-ago period
NEW DELHI: State-run power giant NTPC is expected to end the current financial year with captive coal production of 7.25 million tonne, up a massive 170 per cent, from 2.68 million tonne in the year-ago period, a company official said.
The official said that while output at NTPC'S Pakri Barwadih coal mine at Jharkhand has seen a sizeable jump to 6.75 million tonne in FY19, from 2.68 million tonne in FY18, Dulanga coal mine in Odisha has started production as well. The Dulanga mine will end the current financial year with an output of 0.5 million tonne.
"Mining of coal is integral to our overall fuel security strategy. A Greater degree of self-reliance in coal will go a long way in ensuring sustained growth of our power generation operations, the official said.
We made a debut in captive coal production just two years ago so the jump in output for the current financial year is encouraging.
However, at 7.25 million tonne, the NTPC'S captive coal production is still a fraction of its annual coal requirement of around 190 million tonne. The bulk of NTPC'S coal requirement is currently met by Coal India, while small quantity is also imported.
The first rake of coal from NTPC'S Pakri Barwadih coal mine was flagged off in February 2017. Pakri Barwadih has block area of 46.26 sq km with a mine capacity 15 million tonne per NEW DELHI: India has decided to post Customs intelligence officers in China in its effort to check black money, trade-based money laundering and other financial frauds, officials said Sunday.
Two posts of the Customs Overseas Intelligence Network (COIN) have been created in the Indian Embassy in Beijing and in the Consulate General of India at Guangzhou, they said.
The Finance Ministry has begun the process to select officers for the postings.
The move has been initiated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the lead agency to check Customs frauds annum and mineable reserve 641 million tonne.
The NTPC has been allotted coal blocks including Pakri-barwadih, Chatti-bariatu, Kerandari, Dulanga, Talaipalli and Chatti-bariatu (South), Banai, Bhalumunda and Mandakini B and smuggling, to curtail incidents of trade-based money laundering and other financial frauds originating from China, the officials said. COIN officers are usually mandated to pass on intelligence or information gathered from their respective positing stations overseas to help Indian intelligence agencies mainly DRI check traderelated frauds, they said.
"COIN officers play an important role in checking trade-based money laundering, black money and tax evasion by sharing intelligence with Indian agencies. Since a significant import and export is done between India and China, it for captive production so that it can meet the demand for fuel for its coal run power plants.
These mines have total geological reserves of around 7.15 billion tonne with annual production potential of 107 million tonne. The total capacity for NTPC'S coal fired power plants is currently at 45,500 MW.
"We will ramp up coal production at Dulanga and Pakri Barwadih and bring more mines into production to boost the overall output in the coming years," the official said.
The official refused to comment on the targeted output for the new financial year that starts on April 1, 2019, but said that the growth in captive coal production for financial year 2019-20 was likely to be robust and will take NTPC'S output to double digits.
In its annual report in 2017, NTPC had said that it plans to secure around 33 per cent of its total coal requirement through captive coal blocks by 2030. was considered imperative to expand the snoop network to China," an official said, wishing anonymity.
In the past, Customs authorities in India have detected a few cases of smuggling to and from China, he said. COIN officers have been posted in several countries, including Nepal, Singapore, Brussels, the US and the UK, to help Indian authorities check smuggling, the officials said. The selection process involves concurrence by the Ministry of External Affairs and final approval by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, they said.