Coal Ministry Conducts Roadshow in Ranchi to Attract Participation in Commercial Auctions

GG News Bureau
Ranchi, 17th Jan. The Ministry of Coal on Tuesday conducted a roadshow in Ranchi to attract more participants in commercial auctions.

The event was attended by Secretary, Ministry of Coal Amrit Lal Meena; Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority M Nagaraju; Aboobacker Siddique P, Secretary (Mines), Government of Jharkhand, and P M Prasad, Chairman, Coal India Limited.

The Coal Ministry has successfully auctioned 91 coal mines in the first seven tranches and has launched the process for auctioning 35 coal mines in the 8th round of commercial auctions and 4 coal mines in the 2nd attempt of the 7th round of commercial auctions. The Bid Due Date is January 29, 2024.

Additionally, the 9th round offering 27 coal mines and the 2nd attempt of the 7th round with 5 coal mines have also been launched on December 20, 2023. The bid due date for the 9th round is February 19, 2024.

M. Nagaraju, the Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority, welcomed the investors and informed them about the coal reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Coal to improve the attractiveness of the coal auction process and make it more investor-friendly.

Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Amrit Lal Meena, reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the coal industry and offered any necessary help to prospective bidders. He emphasized the profitability of the coal mining business and encouraged investors to participate in the coal mine auctions.

P M Prasad, Chairman, Coal India Limited, praised the efforts of the Ministry of Coal in making the Commercial Coal Mine Auctions a success by auctioning 91 coal mines in a short period of time. He also welcomed the steps taken by the Ministry in providing support through the Single Window Clearance system and the Project Monitoring Unit.

Aboobacker Siddique P, Secretary, Mines, Government of Jharkhand, welcomed the investors, and Chiranjib Patra, GM, CMPDIL, gave a presentation on the technical details of the coal blocks being offered in the commercial auction process.

Shubham Goel, Vice President, SBI Capital Markets, delivered a presentation on the terms and conditions of the auction process.

Key features of the auction process include a reduction in upfront amount and bid security amount, submission of bid security through NEFT/RTGS, permission to relinquish part of the coal mine in case of partially explored coal mines, introduction of National Coal Index and National Lignite Index, ease of participation with no entry barriers, full flexibility in coal utilization, optimized payment structures, incentives for early production, use of clean coal technology, and Rebate for Performance Security for underground mines.

The sale of tender documents for the 8th round started on November 15, 2023, and for the 9th round on December 20, 2023. Details of the mines, auction terms, timelines, etc. can be accessed on the MSTC auction platform.

The auction will be held online through a transparent two-stage process based on Percentage Revenue Share.

SBI Capital Markets Limited, the sole Transaction Advisor to the Ministry of Coal for the commercial coal mine auctions, is assisting in the conduct of the auction.