Budget 2023: FM reduces coal ministry's allocation by 51% to Rs 192.32 crore

The Centre on Wednesday allocated Rs 192.32 crore to the coal ministry, which was 51.21 percent less than Rs 394.24 crore for FY23.

For FY22, the Centre had allocated Rs 534.88 crore to the ministry.

In November 2022, the Finance Minister, while launching the sixth tranche of the auction for commercial coal mining in Delhi, said that India, with the fourth largest coal reserves, isn't even an exporter yet. -

Geopolitical factors affecting the world economy has resulted in rising inflation and the world is now staring at a possible global slowdown. The Finance Minister in November had said that keeping the global uncertainty and gas prices in view, coal gasification assumed importance.

She had also said that the Indian stock of coal would also be used for gas as transitional energy as the country moves away from fossil fuels towards greener alternatives.

Coal import by the power sector had dropped 41 percent in FY22 compared to the previous fiscal. Sitharaman had stressed that it was not justifiable for a nation with huge coal reserves to keep importing the resource.

The Finance Minister in September had also said that uncertainties in the energy sector were a big concern area for the Centre, and it added complexities in handling climate-related issues.

Following the uncertainties of availability of crude, natural gas and coal due to the Russia-Ukraine war, she had said that many governments were talking about going back to coal because of global uncertainties, and India, too, would have to fall back on coal for its energy needs for some more time. -