More Stories

Informist, Friday, Jun. 5, 2026

 

KOLKATA – To reduce import dependence of high-grade coal in the country that is usually used by the sponge iron sector, Coal India Ltd. is commencing linkage auction of coal on Jun. 12 for the non-power sector where it will put up 35 million tonnes of the fossil fuel. Unlike the usual e-auction which is a one-time affair, linkage auctions help coal users secure steady coal supplies over a time period. 

 

The company will also conduct the next round of short-term auctions for the power sector under the Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India on Monday, where around 34 million tonnes of coal would be put on the block.

 

The world's largest coal miner offered 13.8 million tonnes of coal to the steel sub-sector in the current tranche of linkage auctions and also allowed the buyers to change consortium partners over the duration of the linkage period. Earlier, they had the option of changing the partners twice during the contract, which is now increased to five, Coal India said in a statement.

 

Non-power sector consumers planning to establish a greenfield or a brownfield project are also allowed to secure coal linkages even though their projects are yet to be commissioned. They can source coal within three years after the participation in the linkages which enables them to secure bank loans as fuel sourcing is tied up with this. It gives them greater leverage in the market, the Maharatna company said. 

 

Alongside, the requirement of linkages for the power sector under different auction windows are being met, the company said. From January to May, a total of 57.8 million tonnes of coal was offered under short-term agreements and 69.2 million tonnes were offered to the power sector under medium-long term contracts.

 

Besides, Coal India has now allowed the steel sector to sell unused coal middlings in the open market which were hitherto forbidden. Middlings are power grade coal that are residual by-product of washed raw coking coal. Some steel plants in the country use such middlings for captive power plants. This provision was enabled under the ongoing Tranche-X linkage auctions that began on Wednesday, Coal India said.

 

For the March quarter, Coal India had reported consolidated net profit of INR 108.39 billion on revenue of INR 464.90 billion. At 1331 IST, shares of Coal India traded over 2% lower at INR 471.90 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Avishek Rakshit

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.