India’s coal imports in April this year declined about 13% or 3.14 million tonnes (MT) to 21.13 MT, the Union Ministry of Coal said on Thursday (July 2, 2026).

It added that the overall dependence on imported coal narrowed to 19.7% in April this year of its overall consumption from 21.7% from the year-ago period.

The paradigm was particularly shaped by the decline in imports of power sector and plants that rely on imported coal to function.

Power plants’ coal imports dipped about 24.9% to 3.51 MT in April this year.

Plants designed to run on imported coal observed the steepest reduction – declining 27.45% to 2.88 MT during the reported period.

“The consistent decline across ICB, DCB and overall import categories reflects the Ministry of Coal’s sustained focus on ramping up domestic coal production and offtake, strengthening First Mile Connectivity, close monitoring of thermal power plant stock positions, and coordinated efforts with Ministry of Railways, Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries to ensure assured supply to power utilities,” the Ministry’s statement read.