According to ratings agency Icra, India's coal production has experienced significant growth in the fiscal years 2022 and 2023, leading to improved availability and supply of the dry fuel. Coal India, the state-owned miner, recorded a growth rate of 12.1% in FY23, marking the fastest growth rate in several decades. The government has implemented various reforms to enhance output and supply, increase transparency, improve ease of doing business, and attract investment in the coal and mining sectors. The policy interventions, including captive and commercial coal mining, have resulted in greater transparency and ease of operations. Domestic coal production grew by 8.7% and 14.8% in FY22 and FY23 respectively, in response to the steep increase in domestic demand. This growth was facilitated by captive and merchant coal mining, benefitting from initiatives by the coal ministry. The transition to the auction regime in January 2015 and the opening up of commercial coal mining in June 2020 have contributed to increased coal production from captive and merchant miners. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched auctions for commercial coal mining in 2020 to enhance coal availability in the country. So far, 86 coal mines have been auctioned under commercial coal mining, with the potential to generate annual revenue of Rs 34,188 crore for various states. Captive and commercial coal production has steadily increased, showing a growth rate of 216% in the last six years. Production from captive and merchant miners grew by 43.2% in FY23, surpassing 100 million tonnes of annual production for the first time. To boost self-reliance in coking coal, the coal minister launched Mission Coking Coal, aiming to more than double coking coal production to 140 million tonnes by FY2029-30. This could potentially reduce coking coal import dependence for the steel sector from the current level of 85-90% to 75%. India has witnessed significant growth in coal production over the past four years, reaching 893 million tonnes in FY 2021-22, a 22.5% increase compared to FY 2018-19. Offtake or supply has also improved during this period, reaching 878 million tonnes in FY23. The coal minister recently assured that the country will not face any shortage of coal this year. In the April-June quarter of FY24, domestic coal production grew by 8.18% to a record high of 222.6 million tonnes, while domestic coal offtake increased by 6.8% to reach a peak of 240.1 million tonnes.