Coal mining based on revenue sharing soon

NEW DELHI: The coal ministry will auction coal blocks for commercial mining on a revenue sharing basis and proposes to announce incentives for faster production. To incentivise bidders to begin early, the government proposes to offer up to 20% deduction in its revenue share.

This will be the first auction outside the reverse bidding model since the mass cancellation of blocks by the Supreme Court. The revenue sharing model is based on recommendations of an expert committee headed by former Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha that was formed after the fourth and fifth rounds of auctions received a tepid response.