Auction for commercial coal mines begins

New Delhi: The central government will on Thursday launch here the auction of coal mines for commercial mining at an event that will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing.

As many as 41 coal blocks - spread across five states of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh - will be put up on sale for commercial mining, according to sources. Of these blocks, the maximum number of mines are in Madhya Pradesh, they said.

"Prime Minister will address the launch of auction of coal mines for commercial mining," according to a coal ministry statement.

The virtual auction event will be centred on the theme "Unleashing coal: New hopes for Aatmanirbhar Bharat", the ministry said.