India exported 1.16 million tonnes coal to neighbouring countries in FY23: Government

India exported 1.163 million tonnes of coal in 2022-23 to neighbouring countries, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, the coal ministry said on Tuesday.

The coal was mainly exported to Nepal at 0.833 MT, followed by 0.245 MT to Bangladesh, 0.053 MT to Bhutan and 0.032 MT to others, according to the latest Provisional Coal Statistics for FY23.

"Although, there was short supply of coal in India compared to its demand and it had to resort to import of coal, India exported some quantity of coal to its neighbouring countries during 2022-23," it said.

As the primary source of commercial energy in India, coal accounts for half of our energy consumption and remains the dominant fuel for power generation due to its reliability compared to other renewable energy sources, the coal ministry said in a statement.