Government Looking At Reducing Entry Barriers In Coal Mining

Anil Kumar Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Govt of India has said that the government is looking at reducing the entry barriers in coal mining which will have a spin effect on the GDP growth and the economy. He further added that the Ministry is open to all suggestions in this regard and will go to the Cabinet after the consultation series are over. He was speaking at a Stakeholder Consultation on recently launched Discussion Paper of Ministry of Coal for 'Auction of Coal Mines for Sale of Coal' organized by Ministry of Coal, Govt of India, jointly with FICCI. This was the first of the series of stakeholders' consultations being organized to gain the industry's perspective on the upcoming auction of coal mines for sale of coal. The second roundtable is in the series is being organized on 28th January at Kolkata.

Government had promulgated Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 on January 10, 2020 to enable wider participation in auction of coal mines by removing the end-use restrictions of the mining blocks. Earlier last year, Government had also allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment under automatic route for coal mining activities including associated processing infrastructure. To take this forward, Government is in the process of formulating guidelines for commercial mining of coal blocks. Subsequently, Ministry of Coal has come out with a Discussion Paper entailing key terms and conditions of the auction process. This is as part of the larger objective of ensuring maximum participation from the domestic as well as global players in the upcoming auctions of commercial coal mines.

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