India’s total coal imports declined to 21.13 million tonnes in April 2026 from 24.27 million tonnes in April 2025, a reduction of nearly 13 per cent, reflecting the sustained impact of the Ministry of Coal’s push for import substitution and enhanced domestic supply.
Power sector imports fell sharply by 24.89 per cent, from 4.67 million tonnes to 3.51 million tonnes, while imports for Imported Coal-Based plants declined by 27.45 per cent, the steepest drop across all categories. Overall coal import dependence narrowed from 21.69 per cent of total consumption in April 2025 to 19.68 per cent in April 2026. Coking coal imports for the steel sector rose marginally by 1.34 per cent, consistent with continued domestic steel production growth and limited domestic coking coal reserves.
Source: Ministry of Coal, Government of India, 2 July 2026
