Indias coal imports rose by 29 percent to a record 135 million tons in the 2012/13 fiscal year, data from government sources showed, and are set to grow further as the worlds third-biggest producer struggles to raise domestic supplies. Thermal coal imports for use in power plants jumped three-quarters to 97.23 million tons, while imports of coking coal, used in steel-making, rose a modest 1.2 percent to 32.2 million tons.For the current 2013/14 year, traders are expecting another big jump in thermal coal imports to 115/120 million as India continues its program of building coal-fired power stations. In the 2012/13 year, India imported 77.5 million tons from Indonesia, a jump of 40 percent on the prior year. Overall, looking at the past three years, its clear that the bulk of the increase in India imports has been met by Indonesia. But unlike its rivals, Indonesias exports have been largely of low-rank coal, the bulk having a calorific value in the 3,600-4,200 gross-as-received (GAR) range. Source: Reuters India

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  Minister of State for Power Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia along with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today dedicated to the nation the Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project at Jhajjar in Haryana. Presently, 1500 MW of power is being generated through this plant. In 2007, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation of this Project. The project is completed with a total cost of Rs. 7900 Crore. On the environmental aspects, the minister said all regulatory clearances from State Pollution Control Board and Ministry of Environment and Forests has been obtained. This year this power station produced more than five billion unit of power, which is 20% of the total power production in Haryana. Haryana, Delhi, and other northern region states and Union Territories will greatly benefit from this Thermal Power Project in which NTPC holds 50% share.   Source: Min. of Power For more information on the energy sector, please feel free to contact Paul CAGNON: paul.cagnon@ubifrance.fr

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Alstom has been awarded a €100 million contract by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The French company will supply components and services to the 2x800 MW Gadarwara super thermal power plant at Gadarwara, Narsingpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Under the scope of the contract, Alstom Thermal Power will cooperate with BHEL in designing the boilers and supply pressure parts of the 800 MW supercritical boilers along with pulverisers and airpreheater components. It will also assist BHEL with technical advisors during the erection and commissioning of the two units. The supercritical boiler technology helps in achieving about 3-4% higher plant efficiency compared to conventional subcritical design. Key components will be manufactured from Alstom