Coal auction to yield nearly Rs 1 lakh crore to states

Respective states will get nearly Rs l lakh crore, including royalty, over the next 30 years from 16 coal blocks sold so far through the ongoing auction, a top government official said on Friday. Besides, reverse auction for the power sector will result in benefits to the tune of Rs 37,050 crore to end-users by way of a cut in tariff, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said. The government has put on block 19 mines in the first tranche of auction. Companies such as Jindal Power, Hindalco and Ultratech and others have bagged 16 of them so far.