 "22 companies place 35 bids for 18 coal blocks in commercial mining auction")
Around 22 companies, including state-owned NTPC and NLC India and private player JSPL, have placed bids in the seventh round of coal auctions under which 103 blocks were put on offer, an official statement said on Wednesday.
A total of 35 bids (both online and offline) were received for 18 coal mines under the latest round, the Ministry of Coal said in a statement on Wednesday.
Of these 18 coal mines, nine are partially explored whereas the remaining mines are fully explored. The cumulative peak rated capacity (PRC) of the fully explored coal mines is 51.80 million tonne per annum (MTPA). 17 coal mines are non-coking coal mines whereas one mine is a coking coal mine.
According to the Ministry, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), NLC India, Bajrang Power and Ispat Limited, Gujarat Mineral and Development Corporation (GMDC) and Bull Mining Pvt Ltd have bid for three blocks each.
Hindalco Industries Limited, NTPC Mining and Sunflag Iron and Steel Ltd have bid for two coal mines each in the seventh round.
While the remaining 14 companies which include players like Nalwa Steel and Power Limited, Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd and Odisha Coal and Power Limited have bid for one mine each.
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"As part of the auction process, Technical Bids consisting of online and offline bid documents were opened here today (June 28, 2023). The online bids were decrypted and opened electronically in the presence of the bidders. Subsequently, sealed envelopes containing offline bid documents were also opened in the presence of bidders. Entire process was displayed on screen for the bidders," it said.
On March 29, the government launched the seventh round of commercial coal auctions in a bid to increase the availability of dry fuel in the country. A total of 103 coal mines were put on the block in the latest round of auctions. Of the total mines offered, the majority of blocks are partially explored.
The government amended the mineral laws to open up the coal sector to provide a level-playing field to the public and private sector players and to permit the auction of coal mines without any restriction on end use. Coal from these mines can be utilised towards own consumption, sale or any other purposes.