India's annual electricity demand could grow by an average of 7.2% over the five years to March 2027, nearly double the rate of increase in the fiscal years from 2017 to 2022.

India had initially set a 2017 deadline for thermal power plants to install flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) units to cut sulphur emissions. That was later changed to 2022, and further extended last year to a period ending 2025.

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The delay could add to strain on some old coal-fired utilities and potentially delay their retirement.

The move could put further pressure on power distribution companies that are saddled with debt and already owe billions of dollars to generators.

The power ministry said lower imports were putting pressure on domestic coal supply and resulting in depletion of the fuel inventories of power plants.

India had initially set a 2017 deadline for thermal power plants which was later changed to varying deadlines for different regions, ending in 2022.

The decision was taken after a request from the coal ministry which pointed to "huge pressure on domestic coal supply in the country".

India produced 777.2 million tonnes of the fuel during the year ended March 2022 and burnt over a billion tonnes.

The supply cuts come months after India's most crippling coal shortage in the recent years led to power cuts lasting upto 14 hours in some states.

The minister, Pankaj Chaudhary, did not name which companies were involved.

Police had opened fire to beat back protesters, killing 13 of them in 2018. This had caused national outrage and the subsequent closure of the Sterlite Copper plan for alleged pollution.

The power ministry proposed a "graded action plan," whereby areas where plants are located would be graded according to the severity of pollution, with Region 1 referring to critically polluted areas, and Region 5 being the least polluted.