Coal mine auctions: Commercial tranche 2 gains traction

21 May 2021 CW Team

The Ministry of Coal informed the media on Tuesday that India's second tranche of commercial coal auctions has received traction, with the purchase of at least 50 tenders documents by prospective bidders.

India has the fourth-largest coal reserves in the world and is the second-largest producer of coal. With the global shift to green energy in order to address growing environmental concerns, the Indian government is trying to make a controlled coal reserve system within the next three decades.

The Ministry of Coal had launched the auction process for coal mines under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act earmarked for sale of coal on 25 March 2021.

India listed 67 mines in Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the second tranche of commercial coal mine auctions.

The ministry said it received a tremendous response to the second tranche of the commercial coal auctions, with around 50 mine specific tender documents being purchased by bidders to date while many other prospective bidders in the process of registration and purchase of the tender documents from the auction portal.

The two-stage auction process lets bidders quote the percentage revenue share over the reserve price. There will be no restriction on the sale and utilisation of coal from the mines. Earlier, blocks were allocated to companies on payment of fixed amounts per tonne.

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Also read: Ministry adds 11 more coal mines for auction

Also read: Govt to meet bidders in second phase of commercial coal mining auction

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