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, including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Navbharat Times , and Punjab Kesar i, sought timely coal dispatches under existing fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with Coal India Limited (CIL) subsidiaries.
“Despite valid long-term agreements with subsidiaries, including Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) and Western Coalfields Limited (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.
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. 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% 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. “Newsprint is a critical raw material for national and regional newspapers, and prolonged shortages could disrupt its availability in the domestic market, affecting publications across the country,” the association said.
