The Ministry of Coal, Government of India (GoI) has put on offer 106 coal blocks across 11 states in the seventh auction round. The auction process was launched on 29 March, 2023 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Of the 106 blocks, 45 are fully explored and 61 partially explored. There are 95 non-coking coal mines, 10 lignite acreages and one coking coal mine offered in this round. The blocks are spread across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

The government will incentivise those operators who can put the mines into early production..

The coal ministry also signed agreements pertaining to the 28 blocks auctioned in the sixth auction round, in which JSW Cements, Ultratech Cements, Ambuja Cements, and Jindal Power were among the successful bidders. These mines are expected to cumulatively produce 74 million tpa of coal at their peak production. Once operationalised, these altogether will generate annual revenue of Rs 14,497 crore and one lakh jobs.

The ongoing auctions of coal blocks are towards meeting the country’s growing requirements and overall energy security.