Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) was the only Coal India subsidiary to exceed all three of its progressive targets — production, offtake and overburden removal — in April–October 2026, the Ministry of Coal said on November 2, even as Coal India as a whole grew production by just 0.7 per cent over the same period.

Source: Ministry of Coal via PIB, reported by Discovery Alert

32.96 MTWCL coal production, April–October — 102.47% of target
41.56 MTWCL offtake — 108.82% of target
207.95 MCuMOverburden removed — 104.56% of target

WCL produced 32.96 million tonnes (MT) of coal in the seven months to October 31, up 15.92 per cent from a year earlier, while its offtake rose 25.54 per cent to 41.56 MT and overburden removal rose 36.10 per cent to 207.95 million cubic metres. In October alone, production jumped 64.87 per cent to 5.93 MT and offtake rose about 50 per cent to 6.67 MT.

Source: CrackTarget current affairs summary of Ministry of Coal release

By contrast, Coal India Limited produced 388.2 MT in April–October, up just 0.7 per cent from 385.5 MT a year earlier, with its October output of 67.2 MT — up 19.3 per cent year-on-year — and offtake of 70.3 MT already reported separately. WCL alone added 4.53 MT of production growth in the seven-month period, more than the group's net gain of about 2.7 MT.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine — Coal India October production

The Ministry of Coal release also put WCL's pithead stock at 4.44 MT on October 31, down from 13.034 MT on April 1, and its profit before tax for April–September at Rs 1,352.26 crore. Overburden is the rock and soil removed to expose a coal seam, so clearing that target alongside production and offtake is what made WCL the only subsidiary to beat all three.

WCL is a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India Limited, which mines most of India's coal. The figures are provisional Ministry of Coal data for the period to October 31, 2026, and the 'only subsidiary' claim is the Ministry's, as reported in the November 2 release.