Through enactment of Coal Mines Special Provisions Act, the NDA government paved the way for private commercial coal mining. The coal sector now is seeking business-friendly reforms to attract private investment in an industry historically governed by the state. A committee report submitted to the coal ministry in the week ending July 13 requests a complete overhaul of regulations governing mine auctions including bidding on revenue share basis, allowing captive mines to sell part of the output in the market and easing of bank guarantees. The committee has also suggested linking the value of to-be-auctioned blocks with a proposed monthly coal index each for met coal and thermal.
The committee, whose members include former Central Vigilance Commission member Pratyush Sinha, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya and former Union Bank of India CMD Arun Tiwari, was set up in December last year to examine challenges of the current rupees per mt bidding system and suggest changes for conducting future auctions.
The suggestions are considered improvements to the present coal block auction guidelines. The coal ministry reportedly seeks to auction 19 captive blocks this financial year ending March 31, 2019.
The mines minister Narendra Sing Tomar said there is urgent need to increase exploration during the recent 4th National Conclave on Mines and Mineral . He urged private players to add to the state owned Geological Survey of India (GSI) and MECL exploration activity. Overall, he noted that over 100 mineral blocks of various sizes may be available for auction in the next round. He added that 14 iron ore blocks are expected at auction during this fiscal year.