Ministry of Coal is making concerted efforts to increase the availability of coal in the country. In spite of various constraints, Coal India has produced 31.67 million tonne in August, 2013 registering a growth of about 11 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year, Union Minister of Coal, Sriprakash Jaiswal told the member of Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry in Delhi recently.    

He said that during the period April-August, 2013, the cumulative coal production has been 167.32 million tonne registering a growth of about 3 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. The off-take to the power sector at 25.9 million tonne in August 2013 from CIL indicates a growth of 5.5 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.    

Similarly the cumulative off-take to the power sector during the period April-August 2013 at 140.6 million tonnes from CIL indicates a growth of 6.6 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. Coal Companies are putting their best of efforts in meeting the requirements of different sectors of the economy, he asserted.