Coal India employees, who were barred by their unions from buying shares during the mega-IPO last year, may after all get another opportunity.
To ensure smooth allocation of 204 cancelled coal blocks, the government has set up a high-level inter-ministerial panel that would provide advise on policy issues and interact with the industry.
Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha on Monday admitted before the Supreme Court that certain changes were made in the coalgate draft report on suggestions given by Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Attorney General G E Vanahvati and the officials of PMO and Coal Ministry.
A change in recommendation in favour of Birla did certainly happen but the question is whether it was a bona fide decision. Jyoti Mukul reports
The government has received 745 applications from a variety of companies for 15 power-project-linked coal blocks with estimated reserves of 3.6 billion tonnes, which can support power generation of 18,000 Mw.
Companies say the viability of 13,000 megawatts worth of projects, which have fixed power sale tariffs, hinge on the government decision.
A Delhi court on Monday awarded three-year jail term to former coal secretary H C Gupta in a coal scam case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Maharashtra, a lawyer associated with the case said.
Questioning the Bharatiya Janata Party's stand, former telecom minister Arun Shourie on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should be allowed to make a statement on coal blocks allocation controversy and said the opposition did not gain much by stalling the Parliament over the issue.
.jpg)
RPG Industries, Hindalco, SAIL, Jindal Steel, Monnet Ispat, GVK Power and Jaiprakash Associates among companies summoned for review.
Asserting that there is nothing wrong in allocation of coal blocks, former Union Coal Secretary Prakash Chandra Parakh on Wednesday said if the Central Bureau of Investigation considers a conspiracy in this case then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should be held equally responsible being the final decision maker.
The court issued notice to the ministry and directed it to file its response in two days.
Coal ministry officials along with senior officials from Coal India and department of disinvestment would meet with capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India this month to take forward the process of listing the public sector unit.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has questioned T K A Nair, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks, which included granting of a block to Hindalco at Talabira despite it being rejected by a screening committee of the coal ministry.
There is good news for coal mine developers who want to go in for expansion. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), in its new notification, said the developers that had already bagged environment clearance for their existing projects might be exempted from the stipulated public hearings for obtaining clearances for their expansion projects, provided they met certain criteria specified by the ministry.
Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Saturday admitted that some files related to the coal block allocation scam are missing.
As of now, only Indian power, steel and cement companies can mine coal for their own consumption.
If the PM had just chosen to behave as if there wasn't anything wrong about existing systems, he wouldn't have been in such trouble today, says Mihir S Sharma
Adani Enterprises has emerged as the lowest bidder in Coal India's tender for imports of the dry fuel with quoting over Rs 4,000 crore for supply of 2.416 million tonne, even though the miner is likely to "negotiate the price", an official said on Monday. A negotiation for the quoted price may take place as the gap between the lowest bid value and the miner's own estimates of Rs 3,100 crore is in excess of around 30 per cent, he said. "Adani's bid is the lowest but it is Rs 900 crore more than the Coal India's own estimate.
The CBI on Friday told a special court that former coal secretary H C Gupta had allegedly concealed facts from then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Setting off a political bombshell, Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha on Friday submitted before the Supreme Court that the agency's status report on coal allocation scam was "shared" with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar "as desired by him" and that senior officials of PMO and Coal ministry had also seen it.
Besides the jail term, the special court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on Koda and Rs one lakh on Gupta.
The states will get over Rs l lakh crore.
The Prime Minister's Office has asked the Coal Ministry to monitor closely the process of allotment and auction of coal mines to ensure that there is no disruption in the production of dry fuel.
The government has garnered Rs 2 lakh crore by auctioning 33 blocks.
Bangladesh has sought revision of a 2017 power purchase agreement with Adani Power Ltd as the price for the coal-generated electricity appeared too expensive, officials said in Dhaka on Thursday. "We have communicated with the Indian company seeking revision of the agreement," an official of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDC) told PTI on the condition of anonymity and without elaborating on the matter. Media reports suggested that the "high coal price" to be purchased for the Adani plant at India's Jharkhand emerged as the key factor for the dispute.
The ministry has also noted the controversial proposal of opening up the coal sector and restructuring of CIL.
The CMOAI had earlier called for a three-day strike that began on Thursday.
Zama, however, said the unions would keep resisting any move that could undermine the position of Coal India.
The government on Monday came under sharp attack on the issue of crucial files of Coal ministry going missing, with the Opposition alleging that it was a conspiracy to save Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation scam and demanding an impartial probe into it.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
The government on Friday issued fresh show cause notices to prior allottees of coal blocks like JSPL, JSW and Tata Steel, asking reasons behind delays in mines development and warned of deduction in their bank guarantees if they failed to furnish replies.
Jindal Power bagged 2 coal mines in Chhattisgarh.
State-owned CIL on Thursday said that it has floated its maiden tender to import 2.416 million tonnes of coal to ensure adequate supply of the fuel to power plants in the country. The development assumes significance in the wake of the government making all efforts to build up stock of coal to avoid the reoccurrence of power outages which happened in April on account of shortage of the fossil fuel. "In a first ever, Coal India Limited (CIL) on Wednesday floated an international competitive bidding e-tender, seeking bids for import of 2.416 million tonnes (MTs) of coal," the company said in a statement.
Of these 36 coal blocks, one mine will be given to the steel sector while the rest will be given to the power sector.
India's jugalbandhi with coal and clean energy is coming unstuck, neither achieving adequate renewable generation nor ensuring sufficient coal-fired power in the quest to become a $5-trillion economy. Six months have elapsed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious climate agenda for India at COP26 at Glasgow. The net zero emissions target by 2070 is a distant one, but there are nearer-term plans to meet 50 per cent of energy demand with renewables by 2030 by increasing capacity to 450 Gw. A cursory look at the balance sheet of India's climate progress since November reveals ponderous progress towards meeting the renewables target even as the country is scrambling to expand coal-fired generation in the face of a power crisis.
As India's electricity demand soars, the power ministry on Tuesday reviewed the power supply situation to ensure 'zero load shedding' during the summer months. The ministry has drafted plans ranging from delaying planned maintenance of thermal power stations to mandatory operations of imported coal-based and gas-based stations till September. In a series of meetings with industry stakeholders, Union Minister for Power, New, and Renewable Energy R K Singh emphasised the importance of adequate planning to avoid situations where one state has surplus power while another state faces shortages.
Key infrastructure sectors -- from railways to power, and from coal to petroleum -- will not only be part of the achievements but promises too, as the BJP fights to get a third term at the Centre.
Main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday once again targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Rajya Sabha on missing files pertaining to coal mines allocation saying the scam is "monumental" and demanded that he clarify on it.
The government is auctioning 42 coal mines among 204 coal blocks.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances