The chief of NTPC, India’s biggest power generator, has launched an unprecedented no-holds-barred attack on fellow state-run firm Coal India Ltd (CIL), calling it the “only company in the world where the production has gone down but the profits have gone up”. Alleging that Coal India’s status as the country’s only coal miner was harming the power sector and the entire nation, NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury said its inability to supply adequate amount of fuel was threatening his company’s expansion plans.

MUMBAI: For 480-odd farmers of Virur village in Chandrapur district, it was a pleasant surprise and a big relief when Coal India Ltd hiked the compensation for land acquisition from Rs 44,000 to Rs 10 lakh per acre and also offered job to a family member. The company will now shell out around Rs 125 crore to these farmers for acquiring 1,497 hectare for exploration of coal blocks.

NTPC Ltd, India’s biggest power producer, said it plans to spend as much as $15 billion (Rs 82, 521 crore) over a decade to secure overseas coal supplies as prices of the fuel tumble to a 19-month-low.

The utility may sign five- or 10-year contracts for the first time to import as much as 150 million metric tonnes of coal, Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury said by telephone from New Delhi on Tuesday.

Files fresh notification under the Cyprus treaty unperturbed by fall in CIL stock’s dollar value

UK-based hedge fund The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) has dropped the charges against the environment and forests ministry from its legal proceedings under the India-Cyprus investment treaty. In March, it had initiated legal proceedings against the government of India under the treaty, after the coal ministry did not respond to its concerns over coal pricing and management of state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL). While the government owns 90 per cent in CIL, TCI holds a little over one per cent.

Power companies have refused to ink fuel supply pacts with the miner due to insertion of new clauses

The Coal Ministry has asked Coal India to examine issues, including changes in penalty clause, raised by the power producers regarding the model fuel supply agreement. The move comes against the backdrop of NTPC and many power companies refusing to ink fuel supply pacts with Coal India Ltd (CIL), disagreeing with introduction of new clauses.

Noting that coal mines were nationalised by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the benefit of the country and its workers, he said, “Since 2004, coal blocks are being leased to private sector.....Public sector Coal India Limited (CIL) is now being hijacked by private companies.”

He said the CIL, a Maharatna company, has the financial strength to exploit the entire coal reserves in the country and there was no reason to allow private sector entry.

New Delhi: Steel major SAIL on Monday got a dressing down from the government over “unsatisfactory” performance and poor progress in expansion and modernization programmes, leading to cost escalations. While SAIL chairman C S Verma termed the Maharatna’s performance as satisfactory, steel minister Beni Prasad Verma came down heavily on the company, warning that “administrative decisions” will be taken if performance is not turned around.

State-Owned Cos Left Out Of Final Report. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s final report on allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009 without auction is expected to peg the value of “undue benefits” that the government extended to private entities alone at more than Rs 1.8 lakh crore, sources have indicated.

Coal India Ltd (CIL) has said its focus, for now, would be on raising output, not on diversification.

The government-owned company, the country’s near-monopoly producer, had diversification plans on coal liquefaction (CTL) and gasification. Last year, Partha S Bhattacharya, former chairman and managing director (CMD), had indicated CIL might foray into production of shale gas.