Coal India Not to be Split: Piyush Goyal

Putting speculation of breaking up state behemoth Coal India to rest, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has said the new government will not split the world's largest coal miner but will work to smoothen the edges and improve its performance.

The new government wants to fix the coal sector quickly to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply across the country.

Coal is the cheapest fuel and is used to generate more than half of India's power.

India is home to the world's fifth-largest reserves of coal but delays in environmental approvals, land acquisition problems and inefficient systems have made the country the third-biggest importer.

Banker-turned-politician Mr Goyal, 50, believes the problems can be fixed by keeping Coal India Ltd (CIL) as one company.

"We have been assessing the performance of Coal India in great detail and I think there is a lot of potential to smoothen the edges and enhance the production at different mines," he told PTI in an interview here.

He saw great strength and benefit in keeping CIL, which accounts for 80 per cent of India's coal output, as one company instead of converting its seven units into independent entities to unlock value and increase efficiency.

"I think while that can enhance the valuation of the company on the stock market, I don't see that (combined holding) as an impediment to good performance," he said.

CIL, which missed its output target of 482 million tonnes by producing 462 million tons of coal in 2013-14, has seven subsidiaries -- South-Eastern Coalfields Ltd, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, Eastern Coalfields Ltd, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, Central Coalfields Ltd, Western Coalfields Ltd and Northern Coalfields Ltd.

South-Eastern Coalfields and Mahanadi Coalfields together account for more than half of the company's total output.

CIL was established in 1975 as a state-owned entity. In 2010, it sold 10 per cent of its shares in the nation's largest initial public offering. Its current market capitalisation is Rs 2,41,379.87 crore.

Explaining the pros of a holding company structure, Mr Goyal said, "That structure is better in terms of synergy of operations, moving talent and expertise..."

The minister is of the view that one company will be able to address the issue of rationalising coal linkages, which help in planning supplies.

Linkages should be made more efficient so that mines supply coal to the nearest power plants, helping to save freight costs, which can be passed on to consumers, or to reduce losses of discoms, the minister added.

In January last year, the coal ministry invited consultants to study the restructuring of Coal India.