Coal ministry launches 16th round of commercial auctions
The coal ministry on Thursday launched the 16th round of commercial coal mine auctions, inviting stakeholders to participate in the bidding of the blocks. In the latest round, the ministry has put 25 coal blocks on sale. Of these, 21 are fully explored and 4 partially explored mines spread over Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh.
“We invite investors to participate in this round of auction. The new round has potential to generate huge employment and attract new investments into the sector,” Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey said. Commercial coal mining was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020. Over the past six years, across 15 completed rounds, 147 coal mines have been successfully auctioned, bringing 44 new companies into the sector. The auctioned mines are expected to generate annual revenue of approximately Rs 47,500 crore, attract capital investment of nearly Rs 55,000 crore and create around 4.9 lakh employment opportunities across coal-bearing states.
The framework continues to operate under liberal terms, with no end-use restrictions, 100 per cent FDI permitted through the automatic route and low upfront payments adjustable against future revenue share, the ministry said.
As per official data, India’s coal production from captive and commercial mines reached 210.46 MT as of March 2026, registering a robust year-on-year growth of 10.22 per cent over 190.95 MT in the previous fiscal.
During FY26, 12 captive and commercial coal blocks were operationalised through the grant of Mine Opening Permission (MOP), significantly expanding the operational coal mining base by adding more than 86 MT of annual production capacity.
In 2023-24, the coal production was at 147.11 MT and in FY23, the country’s dry fuel output was at 115.78 MT.
