New Delhi: The Ministry of Coal expects coal production from captive mines to cross 190 million tonnes (MT) in 2026-27, up from 184 MT in 2025-26. Together, captive and commercial mines are expected to produce more than 228 MT this financial year, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
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The projection rests on the pace set so far this year. Captive mines produced 68.98 MT up to September 10, against 65.78 MT in the same period of 2025-26. According to the ministry, this is "a growth of about 5 percent, or an additional 3.2 MT." It added that the growth "comes on a base that was itself 10.12 percent higher than the year before it."
The ministry also pointed to when the gain was made. It came in the first five months of the year, "which include the monsoon, when mining and evacuation are at their most difficult." Dispatches rose over the same period. Captive mines dispatched 75.68 MT against 71.43 MT last year, an increase of 4.25 MT or 5.94 percent.
The ministry expects that momentum to build. "Provisional figures indicate the pace picking up further as the monsoon begins to recede," it said. Between September 1 and 10, captive mines produced 4.12 MT and dispatched 4.21 MT.
"New capacity is being added steadily to this base," the ministry said. Nine captive and commercial mines are expected to begin production in 2026-27, with a combined peak rated capacity of 20.67 MT. Three of them, with a peak capacity of 7.51 MT, have already started production this year. The remaining six "are expected to commence production soon during the year," according to the statement.
The ministry described captive mines as "a mainstay of coal production" whose output "has grown steadily." Production from captive mines rose to 184 MT in 2025-26 from 167.44 MT in 2024-25, a growth of 10.10 percent, according to the ministry. Commercial mines produced about 26 MT that year, taking the combined output of the two segments to 210 MT. That compares with 190.95 MT in 2024-25.
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The two segments account for about 21 percent of India's domestic coal production, the ministry said. National output stood at 1,039 MT in 2025-26 and "has remained above one billion tonnes for the second year running."