The Indian Newsprint Manufacturers’ Association (INMA) has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct intervention to resolve persistent coal supply disruptions, warning that irregular dispatches and inadequate allocations are constraining domestic production and threatening supplies to the print media industry.
In an urgent representation to the Prime Minister, the association, which represents manufacturers supplying newsprint to leading publications, sought timely coal dispatches under existing fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with Coal India Ltd (CIL) subsidiaries. Despite valid long-term agreements with subsidiaries, including Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL), manufacturers are not receiving allocated coal rakes according to agreed schedules, INMA said.
The shortages have forced mills to procure coal from the open market at exorbitant prices and rely on grid electricity at substantially higher costs to keep their plants operational, the association said. Prolonged delays followed by the sudden bunching of multiple coal rakes have added to financial and logistical pressures, creating challenges involving working capital, coal handling, storage capacity and transportation.
INMA warned that the supply constraints were preventing manufacturers from operating at optimal capacity, raising the risk of production cuts, domestic market disruptions and financial stress across the print media supply chain. The association also urged the Government to enforce the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)-recommended coal allocation ratio of 75:25 between the power and non-power sectors. More than 95 per cent of coal supplies were reportedly being directed to power plants, leaving non-regulated sector (NRS) consumers, including newsprint manufacturers, struggling to secure adequate supplies despite contractual commitments, INMA said.
INMA urged the Government to address the issues on a priority basis, warning that sustained coal shortages could undermine domestic manufacturing capacity and jeopardise the uninterrupted supply of newsprint to India’s print media industry.