In a major step to reform the power sector, the much-delayed Electricity Bill was approved by Parliament after Rajya Sabha passed it on Monday incorporating several recommendations of the Parliamentary standing committee.
Coal India is transporting extra volumes of coal to power plants ahead of a five-day worker union strike that threatens to cut much of its per-day output of 1.6 million tonnes.
The CMOAI had earlier called for a three-day strike that began on Thursday.
According to coal ministry officials, the Bill is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014 was brought in October this year in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision cancelling 214 coal blocks.
The Coal India offering would follow a 5 percent stake sale in state-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corp, worth $2.8 billion and slated for December.
Officials say a fall in global oil prices will reduce the government's subsidy burden, giving it a greater chance of hitting its ambitious fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year to March.
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