Govt proposes setting up sovereign fund to buy coal assets abroad

The coal ministry has proposed setting up a sovereign wealth fund to buy coal assets abroad, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said on Friday.

Coal accounts for more than half of India's power generation and will be required for 85% of the 76,000 megawatts additional capacity targeted in the next five years.

But domestic supply has fallen short of targets largely due to regulatory hurdles, and poor infrastructure hinders the transport of imported coal.

The cabinet is likely to consider a bill to create a coal regulator next week, Jaiswal told reporters.