The government has agreed to remove coal from the list of essential commodities in the Essential Commodities Act, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.
Dismissing allegations of corruption against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh levelled by Team Anna, Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal on Sunday said all decisions on allocation of coal blocks were taken with the consent of the state governments in a transparent manner.
The Cabinet had had approved promulgation of the Ordinance on Insurance Bill and re-promulgation of the Coal Ordinance on Wednesday, a day after the conclusion of the Winter session of Parliament.
The government on Monday said the coal supply at the thermal power stations is not adequate and the countrywide fuel stock has come down to half of the requirement norm of 22 million tonnes.
The state-run miner, which recently raised a record Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) from the markets, is running short of executive manpower, even as it looks at expanding production to meet rising coal demand in the country.
Coal accounts for more than 60 per cent of India's electricity capacity, and the government plans to nearly double annual coal output by 2020, opening a new mine nearly every month
Jindal Power bagged 2 coal mines in Chhattisgarh.
Global brokerage firm CLSA has reversed its early tactical shift from Indian equities to Chinese stocks, and has decided to raise India allocation while cutting exposure to China. In its report titled 'Pouncing Tiger, Prevaricating Dragon', CLSA cited challenges facing Chinese markets in the aftermath of Donald Trump's victory in the US elections as the reason for the move. "Misfortune can happen in threes. So it has played out for Chinese equities over the past week.
'At present, hybrids emit lesser carbon despite using fuel than pure play electric cars.' 'That is because EVs have to be charged and 76 per cent of the country's electricity is still coal-based and not renewables.'
The Centre has stopped allocating coal blocks to state governments till the Mines and Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act is implemented with the amendments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hit the poll campaign trail in support of his party candidates on Saturday by addressing a mega rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, amid tight security arrangements.
Initiating the process of allocation of coal mines, the government on Monday invited proposals from PSUs for alloting 17 blocks to them, mostly for captive power plants.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92. He was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS Delhi in critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness."
The PM-elect wants to fix the coal sector; cut coal imports by boosting output.
The Supreme Court verdict on mining royalty case will give a further jolt to the Indian mining industry and will have very large financial implications, as arrears may work out to the tune of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, industry players said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the power of states to levy tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land, and allowed them to seek refund of royalty from April 1, 2005 onwards. According to a senior mines ministry official, the verdict will have a very large financial impact on mining, steel, power and coal companies.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday registered another preliminary enquiry in the alleged coal scam against unknown people for allocation of coal blocks to joint venture companies which included a private player.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to question Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal on Friday in connection with a case of alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy in bagging Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Birbhum in 2008.
Zama, however, said the unions would keep resisting any move that could undermine the position of Coal India.
India will allow locally registered foreign firms to mine and sell coal when commercial mining is permitted as part of the opening up of the nationalised industry after four decades, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told Reuters.
The allocations followed two stages.
Ministry seeks more active role by state governments to address issues.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is to be congratulated for imposing a large fine, of nearly Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion), on Coal India Ltd for alleged abuse of its monopolistic position.
'I wonder if they will keep it up after the elections.' 'I fear they'll start questioning eligibility -- income, age, bank accounts -- and eventually stop the scheme altogether.'
India is expected to cut imports by a fifth in the fiscal year.
Of these 36 coal blocks, one mine will be given to the steel sector while the rest will be given to the power sector.
Parliament in the Australian state of Queensland agreed on Tuesday that India's Adani Enterprises Ltd should be granted "all state government approvals" to build one of the world's biggest coal mines.
After climbing to a record high of Rs 523 on September 30, shares of commodity major Vedanta have come off over 15 per cent amid a fall in the overall markets. The Anil Agarwal-led firm's latest slump comes after its stock price doubled over the past one year. Is it a blip or a trend reversal?
India is looking at buying coal mines in Australia through two state-owned entities in a bid to bridge the domestic coal supply-demand shortfall, a top government official said on Monday.
The hike in clean energy cess is likely to impact input cost for thermal power producers
Moody's Ratings on Tuesday said India's growing water shortage can disrupt farm and industry sectors and is detrimental to the credit health of the sovereign as rising food inflation and decline in income may spark social unrest. It said decreases in water supply can disrupt agricultural production and industrial operations, resulting in inflation in food prices and hence can be detrimental to credit health of sectors that heavily consume water, such as coal power generators and steel-makers.
The top court said it cannot order a roving inquiry into purchase of electoral bonds on the assumption that it was quid pro quo for award of contract.
But reiterates that licences of 46 blocks in operation should be retained.
Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal warned that it would take years to alleviate coal supply shortages, which have reduced stocks at thermal power stations to their lowest since a huge blackout in 2012 cut off 620 million people.
The first lot of 74 mines will be auctioned to specific end-users and allocated to state-owned entities by March.
The states will get over Rs l lakh crore.
Because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, he was able to intervene directly at the level of the PMO, which he did in the days leading up to the partition of Pakistan in 1971 when he transferred crucial information about Pakistan's moves via information handed to him by an East Pakistani diplomat in Poland where he was posted.
The Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013, needs Parliamentary approval and is to be introduced in the next session, P Chidambaram told reporters.
Former Coal Secretary H C Gupta, who resigned as member of Competition Commission of India, was on Thursday questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with coal blocks allocation from 2006 to 2009 during his tenure.
The central probe agency had on Friday carried out a fresh round of searches in connection with the case, they said.
