As first tranche of commercial coal mine auction concludes, minister hails 'historic feat'

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi during in New Delhi on Monday said that the result of the first tranche of commercial coal mine auction has been historic. Pralhad Joshi informed that the commercial coal mine auction started from November 2 and until November 9, 19 mines have been auctioned. 'These 19 commercial coal mines will generate revenue of 7,000 crore rupees,' he added.  

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Commercial coal mine auction generates 7,000 crore revenue

The coal minister said that the upfront amount from this auction will be 1,048 crore rupees. The 19 mines which have been auctioned include 11 open cast mine, 5 underground mines and 3 are from mix category. 'These mines are Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, 'Joshi added. He said that in total 76 bids were received for 23 mines, out of which 19 mines were eligible for technical bids. Throughout the bidding process, the Ministry consulted with the state government, he added. 

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Stating that the success of this auction is around 50 per cent which is highest after 2015, Joshi requested the state governments to proactively cooperate with the bidders. Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain said that due to the commercial terms, the bidding round was different from other rounds. The Minister appealed state governments to proactively cooperate with the bidders, pointing towards the Supreme Court verdict in 2015, Jain said that new methodologies like entry and ease of exit, the incentive for early production and upfront payment. 

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Announcing the successful completion of the commercial coal mine auction, Joshi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sharing his vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. Highlighting the success of the event, Joshi said that this auction has not only liberalised the coal sector, but has also helped boost the country's economy. 

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