Chennai: The Centre is considering breaking up the world’s largest coal mining company, the State-owned Coal India Ltd, into five separate listed firms, say reports. The move is being looked at in order to boost competition and raise funds, said media reports.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, a wing of the Finance Ministry which deals with disinvestment, has proposed listing four of Coal India’s biggest production units as well as its exploration arm, it said.
Coal India and the coal ministry are currently studying the proposal and it was unclear how long it may take, the report added.
The four production units are Mahanadi Coalfields, South Eastern Coalfields, Northern Coalfields and Central Coalfields. They together account for more than three-fourths of Coal India’s total output, while constituting less than half of its workforce.
The fifth unit proposed to be listed would be Central Mine Planning and Design Institute, a fully-owned subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, engaged in the field of environmental engineering, and consultancy and engineering services.
Earlier, in 2017, the Niti Aayog had proposed that Coal India be broken up so that its units can compete against each other. The idea was dismissed at the time by then Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, who said the plan doesn’t reflect government policy.
Coal India produced a record 607 million tonnes in 2017-18, yet falling short of set target by 22 per cent at a time when India’s coal imports have surged.