• Around 73% of the power generated in India is coal based.
• Coking Coal: it is used in the process of creating coke, which is necessary for iron and steel making. Major exporters and producers are Australia, Canada and United States.
• India currently imports 85% of its coking coal. It is poised to become the largest importer of coking coal by 2022.Coal is the only available fossil fuel in India which is in abundance.

Types of Coal found in India:

• 1. Anthracite: Highest grade of coal found in Kashmir valley in small quantities.
• 2. Bituminous: Medium grade coal found in M.P, Odisha, W. Bengal, Jharkhand. Used for poer production.
• 3. Lignite: Last grade coal found in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kashmir valley.
• Over Burden Removal: Removal of topsoil to expose the coal seams and extract the minerals. This is an important step in open cast mining which is generally followed in India.
• Due to several contractual issues over burden removal has slowed down over the past few years.
• UTTAM Portal: Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal. It is a portal by Ministry of Coal to meet international standards through testing by various national laboratories.
• Shakti Scheme: Coal linkage policy launched by Coal India Limited. Scheme to Harness and Allocate Coal. Its aim is to auction long-term coal linkages to power companies so that there is no disruption in the coal supply.
• As of April 1, 2019, there was not a single coal fired power plant in critical or supercritical list for want of coal.

WPI Inflation:

• Wholesale Price Index: it is an index that tracks the changes in the price levels of goods in stages before they reach the retail level.
• In India it is released monthly by the Office of the Economic Advisor WITH THE BASE YEAR OF 2011-12.
• It has 697 items under three categories viz; Primary articles, Fuel and Power, and Manufactured Products.

What does the current low in WPI indicate?

• Weakening of demand in the economy.
• Dwindling sales of Auto and FMCG goods.
• A delayed of weak monsoon can aggravate the situation of food inflation in the country.