Despite high prices in international markets, imports continue to rise — and there’s no letting up on that front. After a dip in FY 2017, overall coal imports increased 10 percent in FY 2018. What’s more, the situation is so bad that India’s largest power producer, the National Therma Power Corporation (NTPC) , is running short on supply and has sought bids to import coal. NTPC Ltd. is seeking 2.5 million metric tons (MT) of imported coal, according to two separate tenders on its website. The last time it sought foreign coal was in 2014. One of many reasons for the shortage is that India’s largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd. (CIL), which produces more than 80 percent of India’s coal, continues to fall short in production and just cannot keep up with the rising demand, driven largely by higher electricity generation. But if you were to ask CIL, […]