CIL will aspire to meet 875 MT coal production target in FY26: CMD

Coal India Ltd will aspire to reach its production target of 875 MT in the current fiscal year or reach close to the figure, its CMD Sanoj Kumar Jha said on Sunday.

The statement comes at a time when Coal India has missed its production target in the last two months.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 59th Foundation Day of Hindustan Copper Ltd here, Jha said, ''Today I can't say we will not meet (the production target). I can't say we will meet. But we will aspire that we will be able to be there or near there.'' Jha, the Coal Additional Secretary, took charge as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India Ltd (CIL) on November 1.

The CMD said Coal India missed its production target in September and October primary because of the monsoon rains.

The coal demand, he said, has been very sluggish and demand from the power sector has gone down.

Assuring that the company will meet coal requirement of the industry, Jha added, ''We will have more stocks at the end of the year than we had last time.'' While CIL's production declined 9.8 per cent to 56.4 MT in October, in September the output of the maharatna firm dropped to 48.97 MT.

Coal India, which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output, has a production target of 875 MT and a dispatch target of 900 MT for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Replying to a question, Jha said in the next six months regulations on the proposed coal exchange will be in place. Addressing the event, Hindustan Copper Ltd CMD Sanjiv Kumar Singh said the company is expanding its capacity to meet the country's rising demand for copper.

The state-owned firm is targetting to ramp up its ore production capacity from the current 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 12 MTPA by 2030-31.