Rules for proposed coal exchanges to be finalised by Nov-end, says Coal Secretary
Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt
The rules for India’s proposed coal exchanges will be finalised by the end of November, after reviewing public feedback, Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said on Thursday.
In September, the Coal Ministry proposed draft legislation to establish a Coal Controller Organisation (CCO) to register and regulate coal exchanges in India, inviting stakeholder comments by October 16, 2025.
“The draft coal exchange rules are in the public domain. Comments have come in. We are examining those comments. The rules will be finalised by the end of November,” Dutt told reporters on the sidelines of the 11th edition of the MGMI conference and international Mining exhibition in Kolkata.
The Coal Exchange Rules, 2025, propose that the coal exchange will serve as a digital platform for buyers and sellers of coal, lignite, or their processed forms to transact, trade, and enter into contracts online. The draft also states that coal exchanges must be registered under CCO regulations before commencing operations. T
Boost access for MSMEs
The government aims to revamp the decades-old production and supply structure with greater access to commercial mines through coal exchanges. This will allow industries, especially MSMEs, to procure coal on-demand.
The Coal Secretary said State-run Coal India is on course for listing two of its subsidiaries — Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI).
“We have moved far ahead on both BCCL and CMPDL, which are the two subsidiaries of CIL. The DRHPs were filed with SEBI in May and it approved both the DRHPs in September. Roadshows for BCCL are currently at an advanced stage, and we are reaching out to different investors. There are a lot of healthy interests there. So, we expect to finish the roadshows by the end of this month, and then go ahead with the listing,” Dutt said.
Strong production
He said the country’s coal production continued to be robust this fiscal.
“We crossed the milestone of more than 1 billion tonnes of coal — not only production, but also supply last (financial) year. This (financial) year, of course, in the first half, the demand was muted because the domestic power generation was down by more than 4 per cent. So, we are sitting on record stocks both at the pithead and at the thermal power plant end. We expect to be close to our production target overall for the sectors– both Coal India and commercial miners included,” Dutt added.
India’s coal production target for FY26 is set at 1.15 billion tonnes.
Published on October 30, 2025
