India's top 12
major ports reported a 19.32 per cent surge in imports of thermal coal to
28.28 million tonnes during April-June this year, latest report from Indian
Ports Association (IPA) has said.
The centre-owned ports had handled 23.70
million tonnes (MT) of the thermal coal in
the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
The Indian Ports Association (IPA),
which maintains cargo data handled by these 12 ports, in its recent report has
said that "percentage variation from previous year" in thermal coal
handling was at 19.32 per cent in the first three months of the current fiscal.
As far as coking and other coal is concerned,
its handling recorded a jump of 6.85 per cent during the first quarter of the
current fiscal at 13.03 MT.
Thermal coal is the mainstay of India's
energy programme as 70 per cent of power generation is dependent on the dry
fuel, while coking coal is used mainly for steel-making.
India is the third-largest producer of coal
after China and the US and has 299 billion tonnes of resources and 123 billion
tonnes of proven reserves, which may last for over 100 years.
Major ports in India together recorded a growth
of 3.91 per cent and together handled 174.02 MT of cargo during the period
April to June 2018, as against 167.48 MT handled during the corresponding
period of previous year.
For the period from April- June 2018, nine ports
- Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Kamarajar, Chennai, Cochin,
New Mangalore, JNPT and Deendayal (Kandla) Port had registered positive growth
in traffic.
India has 12 major ports -- Kandla, Mumbai,
JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V O Chidambarnar,
Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) which handle
approximately 61 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic.
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