CIL restructuring: Govt may zero-in on study consultant this week

Coal Ministry had invited proposals from nine shortlisted firms

The government, in the process of selecting a consultant for a study on the restructuring of state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL), is likely to zero-in on a firm this week from among the nine shortlisted companies.

"In the coming week, we will shortlist a firm which would provide consultancy for a study on Coal India restructuring," a government official said.

The Coal Ministry had invited proposals from the nine shortlisted firms, including ICICI Securities, KPMG, Ernst & Young, McKinsey, Deloitte and Crisil, for restructuring CIL.

The government had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) earlier this year to provide consultancy for restructuring CIL and 17 firms, including SBI Capital and Infosys had responded to the proposal.

"Out of the 17 companies, nine firms have qualified for the next stage of bidding," the ministry had said.

The Coal Ministry had earlier informed the Prime Minister's Office about the appointment of consultants with international expertise and to frame timeline to take forward the proposal on restructuring of the state-owned miner.

The Planning Commission and many high-level panels, including Expert Committee on Road Map for coal sector reforms - also known as T L Shankar Committee -, have recommended CIL's restructuring keeping in view the rapidly increasing demand for coal and the need for enhancing production and making the coal sector competitive.

Amid growing supply deficit of coal, the Planning Commission had earlier suggested the spinning off of CIL subsidiaries into separate entities so that each one of them can pursue its goal.

World's largest coal miner CIL has seven subsidiaries, including Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), and Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd. The coal producer has 3.5 lakh employees.
 
The Coal Ministry had recently said the gap between demand and supply of coal, which touched 135 million tonne in 2012-13, may reach 140 MT this fiscal.