For Flat Earthers Like Me: India's Billion-Ton Plan -- May 14, 2015

This is a nice update of what's going on with coal in India.

Remember:

• India is the second most populous nation on earth, and will be #1 a few years from now
• everyone in India wants the American dream (an Apple Watch)

Keep those two data points in mind when reading the coal article at the Wall Street Journal today:

Mr. Modi is taking a gradual approach, centered on what officials call the Billion-Ton Plan: an attempt to double the coal company’s output in five years by stepping up investment and untangling administrative obstacles.

At the same time, he has steered through Parliament a law opening the way for private companies to mine and sell coal, which could eventually end Coal India’s four-decade monopoly on commercial production.

The two-pronged plan typifies an emerging Modi strategy for getting the cumbersome Indian economy to run better: Fix the plumbing first. Worry about building a new house later.

And more:

India’s fast-growing economy runs on coal, which means Coal India’s struggles to meet demand have ripples internationally.

Coal imports have risen rapidly to about 170 million metric tons a year.

As developed countries turn to more environmentally friendly natural gas and as China’s growth slows, analysts predict India will increasingly dominate global coal demand over the next decade. 

Once China sees its growth slowing and India's growth rising, China may ask, "why?" and react accordingly.

The graphics at the linked article are staggering: India's energy -- 65% related to coal.

More:

Summer was fast approaching when Mr. Modi took office a year ago, and with it a surge in electricity demand that annually threatens mass blackouts in India.

Some power plants had only a few days’ coal supply on hand.

At Coal India, the task is mammoth. Technology that long ago revolutionized mining elsewhere is only starting to find a foothold in its over 400 mines.