How govt's tight control is slicing away Coal India's creamy layers

Larger shares of the state-owned miner's production are sold significantly below global benchmark prices, deterring global investors from participating in divestment plans

When global thermal coal prices crossed $450 a tonne in September, reflecting a surge in demand for the fuel in Europe, Coal India, the world’s biggest producer, was charging less than a tenth of international rates for a similar grade of fuel. A portion of the miner’s produce is auctioned, which last fiscal fetched an average premium of 88 per cent over the company’s notified prices, according to ratings agency CRISIL data. The premium on such auction sales surged last quarter but the quantity of coal sold at market rates declined from last year’s levels.

Successive Indian governments have shackled