The Ministry of Coal (MoC) on March 25, 2026, through the Office of the Nominated Authority (ONA), released the provisional National Coal Index (NCI) with base year 2017–18 for February 2026, reflecting trends in coal prices across various sectors and grades.
The overall NCI increased from 130.92 in January 2026 to 133.42 in February 2026, indicating a rise in coal prices. The increase was primarily driven by a significant jump in coking coal index (from 136.01 to 144.62), while non-coking coal remained relatively stable with marginal changes across grades. Among sub-categories, top-grade coking coal showed notable growth, whereas middle and bottom grades of non-coking coal recorded slight declines.
Additionally, representative prices for various coal grades were updated based on February 2026 data, with substantial increases observed in higher grades such as G1 and ST-I. The data remains provisional due to reliance on provisional import figures, and detailed historical datasets have been provided in the annexure.
[Notification No: NA/102/3/2017-NA]
