Real estate, pharma firms among winners of India’s coal mine auctions

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.