Real estate, infrastructure and pharmaceutical companies were among the winners of India’s first coal mine auctions open to the private sector without restrictions on end-use, the government said on Monday.
Coal production in India has largely been restricted to state-run Coal India Ltd and another smaller government-controlled company, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened up the industry to the private sector this year.
“Almost 65% (of) bidders were from the ‘non-end user’ category like real estate, infrastructure, pharma,” India’s Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday, adding that removing end-use restrictions was the right move helped diversify interest in coal mining.
