Coal exports to help India lower trade deficit in energy

India is set to export coal for the first time, shipping 2-3 million tonnes of the fuel to neighbouring Bangladesh, as domestic stocks swell following a record output. According to \"Energizing India\", a report on energy choices for the country brought out jointly by experts and economists from Royal Dutch Shell Plc and New Delhi-based think tanks TERI and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, greater private participation in captive and commercial mining will, over the long run, yield benefits to the sector and the wider economy. Private and foreign mining firms could employ industrial best practices and technologies in India, improving productivity and operational efficiency, it said.