The Indian government has cracked the whip on State-miner Coal India Limited (CIL), directing it to either step up exploration for and production of coal at blocks allotted to it, or see the assets put up for auction. Having liberalised coal mining and with auctions of coal blocks exclusively for private miners lined up, the Coal Ministry has come down heavily on the State miner for delays in exploring and operationalising 110 coal blocks with estimated reserves of 40-billion tons, allotted to it in 2011.
