Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015
Opening Commercial Mining
The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and subsequent MMDR amendments opened commercial coal mining to the private sector for the first time since the 1973 nationalisation. The government auctioned commercial coal blocks where private companies can mine coal and sell it in the open market (not required to sell to power sector at administered prices). This created a three-tier structure: CIL (regulated supply to power sector + e-auction for others), private commercial miners (full market pricing), and importers. The National Coal Exchange, if implemented, would ideally unify these three segments into a single transparent platform — but the pricing implications for CIL's power sector obligations make full unification complex.
- Pre-2015: Coal mining restricted to CIL, SCCL, and captive mines (for own consumption)
- 2015 Act: Opened commercial mining; private companies can sell coal in open market
- First commercial coal mine auction: Completed 2020
- Commercial blocks auctioned by 2025: ~50 blocks; production still small relative to CIL
- SCCL: Singareni Collieries Company Ltd; another major state-owned coal company (Telangana)
- Captive mines: Coal mined exclusively for producer's own use (steel plants, aluminium smelters)
- NCE vision: Integrate CIL notified, e-auction, commercial, and import prices into unified exchange
● Tracked since February 24, 2026 · last seen July 29, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes