Coal Ministry opens 16th round of commercial Coal mine bidding, offering 25 blocks across 8 states

The Ministry of Coal on Thursday launched the 16th round of commercial coal mine auctions, inviting prospective stakeholders and investors to participate in the bidding process for the newly offered blocks.

In this latest tranche, a total of 25 coal blocks have been put up for sale. Among these, 21 are fully explored blocks, while four are partially explored mines. The blocks are geographically spread across eight states: Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana, and Arunachal Pradesh.

"We invite investors to participate in this round of auction. The new round has potential to generate huge employment and attract new investments into the sector," Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey said while launching the auctions.


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Commercial coal mining was originally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020. Over the past six years, spanning 15 completed rounds, 147 coal mines have been successfully auctioned, bringing 44 new companies into the domestic coal sector.

These previously auctioned mines are projected to generate an annual revenue of approximately Rs 47,500 crore, attract near-term capital investment of around Rs 55,000 crore, and create roughly 4.9 lakh employment opportunities across various coal-bearing states.

According to the ministry, the commercial mining framework continues to offer liberal terms, featuring no end-use restrictions, 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) permitted via the automatic route, and minimal upfront payments that are adjustable against future revenue shares.

Official data indicates that India's coal production from captive and commercial mines rose to 210.46 MT as of March 2026, marking a robust year-on-year growth of 10.22 per cent compared to 190.95 MT recorded in the previous fiscal year.

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During FY26, 12 captive and commercial coal blocks were operationalised after receiving Mine Opening Permission (MOP), expanding the nation's operational mining base by adding over 86 MT of annual production capacity. In comparison, coal production from these blocks stood at 147.11 MT in 2023-24, up from 115.78 MT in FY23.