Tamil Nadu was the largest producer of lignite and produced 22.480 million Tonnes (MT) in 2022-23.
The overall production of lignite declined 5.27% to 44.990 MT in 2022-23 from 47.492 MT in 2021-22, as per the provisional figures.
Tamil Nadu accounted for 49.97% of the production, followed by Gujarat at 27.37%, and Rajasthan at 22.67%.
Tamil Nadu accounts for about 82% of India’s lignite reserves of 40.9 billion tonne.
Lignite deposits in India are primarily located in the tertiary sediments in the Southern & Western parts of the peninsular shield, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir.
Lignite is also available in minor quantities in Odisha, Kerala & West Bengal.