Coal India Limited's coal allocation under spot e-auction scheme declines by 38 pct

State-owned Coal India Limited's coal allocation under spot e-auction scheme declined by 37.7 per cent to 34.34 million tonnes in the last fiscal (2018-19). The country's top dry-fuel miner had allocated 55.17 million tonnes (MT) of coal in FY 2018, according to government data.

However, the coal allocated by the PSU under the scheme in March increased by 10.2 per cent to 4.18 MT, compared to 3.79 MT in the corresponding month of FY 2018, it said. Coal distribution through e-auction was introduced with a view to providing access to coal for such buyers who are not able to source the dry fuel through the available institutional mechanism, as per the information available on CIL website.

The purpose of e-auction is to provide equal opportunity to purchase coal online through single window service to all intending buyers. Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

The company reported a growth of 7 per cent in coal production to 606.9 million tonnes in 2018-19, a shade below the MoU target of 610 million tonnes with the coal ministry. The coal production stood at 567.4 million tonnes in FY 2018.

(With inputs from agencies.)