FM Nirmala Sitharaman launches biggest-ever coal mine auction

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday launched the biggest-ever coal mine auction of 141 mines that are expected to benefit twelve states directly. During the launch, the finance minister said that a fast-growing economy like India needs greater investment in coal production and gasification projects.

The Coal Ministry in a statement said that 33 coal mines were put up for auction in the sixth round of commercial auctions, out of which 71 were new coal mines and 62 coal mines were rolling over from earlier tranches of commercial auctions. 

Additionally, 8 coal mines under the second attempt of 5th round of commercial auctions were included for which single bids were received in the first attempt. 

"With the launch of this auction tranche, the Ministry of Coal re-affirms its commitment to attaining self-sufficiency in the area of thermal coal," the ministry said. 

Today, Sitharaman said that twelve states are to benefit directly from today’s auctioning of 141 coal mines. 

The mines being auctioned are spread across coal/lignite-bearing states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar.

The Finance Minister complimented the Coal Ministry for the recent initiatives to unlock the coal sector and said that mining sector reforms are providing the right fillip to our fast-growing economy.
 
Sitharaman highlighted that India is at present the best investment destination in the world. She pointed out that due to policy consistency and the transparent process of the present government, coal imports for the power sector have come down by 41 percent. 

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