During August, coal output of the state-run miner Coal India (CIL) stood at 31.68 million tonne (mn t), less than its target of 32.73 mn t.

The company's offtake during the month was 35.10 mn t, lower than the target of 35.54 mn t.

During Apr-Aug 2013, the company produced 167.3 mn t of coal against the target of 173.04 mn t.

During this five-month period, its offtake stood at 188.57 mn t, lower than the target of 192.4 mn t.

The company mined 32.77 mn t of the dry-fuel in July and this is 2 percent lower than the target.

CIL, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic production, contributed 452.5 mn t of coal in the previous financial year, compared with the target of 464 mn t.

For 2013-14, the coal ministry set a production target of 482 mn t and offtake of 492 mn t for CIL.