The coal ministry is laying the ground work for leasing out unused mine land for constructing related infrastructure or other “public purpose” projects with the aim of monetising idle assets and attracting more private investment in the sector.
The dates for submission of bids for online auction of coal blocks for commercial mining could be further extended, sources said. The Centre had earlier extended the dates for submission of technical bids. According to the revised schedule, the last date for submitting a technical bid is 2 pm of September 29, and e- auction would be carried out for qualified bidders between October 19 and November 9.
India’s coal import fell 43.2% to 11.13 million tonnes in July this year on account of high stockpile of the dry fuel at pitheads, plants and ports. The country had imported 19.61 MT of coal in July 2019, according to a provisional compilation, by mjunction services limited. During April-July 2020, total coal imports were recorded at 57.27 MT, which is 35.76% lower than 89.15 MT imported during April-July 2019.
Coal India Ltd has revised its production target to 650-660 million tonne for the current fiscal in the wake of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The miner had earlier set a production target of 710 million tonne for the 2020-21 fiscal.
The recovery in employment rate slowed down in July at 1.7 percentage points compared to June when it stood at 6.7 percentage points suggesting slowdown in initial recovery in economic activity, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said in its weekly report.
The Meghalaya government has completed over 1,300 km of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), despite the COVID-19 crisis in the state, according to a statement. A total of 528 road projects under the programme are in progress, it said.