New Delhi: The Indian Newsprint Manufacturers Association (INMA) on Tuesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to resolve coal supply problems faced by its member companies, which supply newsprint to print media outlets including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Navbharat Times and Punjab Kesari, IANS reported.

In its letter to the Prime Minister, the association said its members face serious difficulties securing timely coal supplies under their Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) with Coal India Limited subsidiaries including Northern Coalfields (NCL), Central Coalfields (CCL), South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) and Western Coalfields (WCL). Despite valid long-term agreements and paying the applicable premium for assured supplies, the member companies were not receiving their allocated coal rakes in accordance with the agreed schedules, the letter said, according to IANS.

"The persistent shortage of coal has prevented our members from operating their manufacturing units at optimal capacity, adversely affecting production and potentially disrupting the availability of newsprint in the domestic market," the association wrote, adding that newsprint is an essential input for the print media industry. The letter also said irregular rake dispatches to non-regulated sector consumers had caused bunching — multiple rakes arriving within a short span after prolonged delays — creating financial and logistical difficulties over working capital, coal handling, storage capacity and transportation. These are the association's claims in its letter, as reported by IANS; Coal India had not publicly responded in the reports available at publication.

Sources: IANS; INMA letter to the Prime Minister, as reported by IANS.