STRONG CASE FOR HIKING PRICES: CIL CHAIRMAN

Coal Chairman Managing Director India (CIL) and Pramod Agrawal said on Monday there is a "strong case" for increasing coal prices, and the hike could be effected "very soon" as discussions are underway with stakeholders.

- ISHITA AYAN DUTT

Agrawal also said he is confident the mining behemoth would achieve its production target of 1 billion tonnes by 2025-26 (FY26).

"There is a strong case for increasing coal prices, as that has not happened in the past five-odd years. This year, the wage negotiation has taken place as well. This will have an impact on CIL's financial condition, especially for a few subsidiaries like Eastern Coalfields, Western Coalfields, and Bharat Coking Coal where the cost of manpower is very high. There will be a lot of problems if prices are not hiked," Agrawal said at the Indian Coal Markets Conference here organised by mjunction.

The last price hike by the state-owned miner was in January 2018 - it was a little over 10 per cent.