India’s coal imports declined 5.83 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, falling to 104.57 million tonnes from 111.05 million tonnes in the same month last year, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy said in a post on X on Monday.
The reduction comes as the government seeks to increase domestic coal production and reduce the power sector’s dependence on overseas supplies. Coal remains a key input for India’s coal-based power plants, making import volumes an important indicator for the country’s electricity supply chain.
According to the figures cited by Reddy, imports of coal used for blending at domestic coal-based power plants recorded a sharper decline of 35.23 per cent in August. Power producers import coal for blending with domestic supplies, and changes in this segment can affect procurement requirements and the movement of fuel through ports, railways and other logistics networks.
Reddy attributed the decline to the government’s efforts to expand domestic production, strengthen coal evacuation infrastructure and improve supply-chain efficiency. His statement linked the lower import requirement to the broader objective of improving India’s energy security and advancing self-reliance in coal supply.
The August figures cover total coal imports and do not provide a breakdown of the reduction by coal type, importing company, port, state or power-generating facility. The supplied statement also does not specify the change in domestic coal production during the month, or whether lower imports were accompanied by changes in electricity demand, power generation or stock levels at thermal power plants.
Coal supply is closely connected to the functioning of India’s power infrastructure. Domestic mines, railway sidings, freight corridors, ports, storage facilities and power stations form an interconnected chain, and the government has identified evacuation capacity and supply-chain efficiency as areas influencing import dependence.
The decline in imports therefore reflects a change in the sourcing of coal used by the power sector, but the available figures do not establish how the reduction affected electricity tariffs, generation costs, plant utilisation or consumer supply. They also do not indicate whether the trend will continue in subsequent months.
The minister’s statement presents the August data as evidence of progress towards reducing dependence on imported coal. Further monthly import figures, domestic production data and information on coal stocks at power plants will determine how the shift develops across the energy supply chain.
