New Delhi (PTI): To give a boost to thermal power generation, the government has set an annual coal production target of 1,055 million tonnes in the XIIth Five-Year Plan (2012-17).

The Coal Ministry has envisaged a production target of 1,055 million tonnes annually from the existing mines, completed projects, ongoing projects and new projects in the XIIth Plan period, according to official data.

State-run Coal India has set a coal production target 320.92 million tonnes during the last year of the XIIth Plan period, i.e. 2016-17 from the new projects and the company plans to produce over 2,000 million tonnes of the fuel during the five years.

During the XIIth Plan period, 134 projects with a capacity of 309 million tonnes have been identified. Of these, 100 projects are likely to contribute 123 million tonnes in 2016-17, the data said.

Demand for coal annually during the XIIth Plan is estimated at 1,125 million tonnes and the share of the power sector is likely to be 750 million tonnes a year during the same period.

Thermal power contributes nearly 60 per cent of the country's total electricity generation capacity, thereby making coal a major raw material for the sector.